ADILCHAN JERZJAKOV | KAZACHSTAN | 2012 | 68' | RUSSIAN SPOKEN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
Constructors has achieved a firm reputation due to screenings at the Busan (S Korea), Fribourg, Wiesbaden, and Edinburgh film festivals. The tragicomedy is seen by many as the poster child for the vitality of Kazakh cinema. As with his previous production Realtor, Adilkhan Yerzhanov wrote the script and directed the film, but this time he also was in charge of cinematography and editing. In characterful black-and-white he shows how individuals struggle to defend themselves against authorities' arbitrary decision-making and indifference.
Two parentless teenage brothers and a younger sister find themselves in a tight spot when they are evicted from their apartment due to rent arrears. They pack up their few belongings and go to the countryside to set up camp on a small family-owned plot of land. Officials arrive to tell them that all land without at least a house's foundation soon will be confiscated. The threesome refuses to resign, making night-time visits to neighbouring sites to "borrow" construction material and tools and building a foundation by day. But no sooner have they completed the foundation walls than the next unsympathetic official turns up...
Screenings
Rialto:
SAT 16 AUG – 15.30 
SUN 17 AUG – 19.15
VU Campus:
THURS 4 SEPT – 20.15