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Based on the true story of a brave transgender activist who fled from Russia to the Netherlands
Vladlena Sandu
Location: [vdm_event_location]
Dates:
[vdm_eventbuttons]- GENRE: Multimedia performance, Performance Art, Storytelling
- THEME: Mental Health, Queer Stories, Voicing the Unvoiced
- LANGUAGE: English
- Attention: a lot of sensory stimuli (light and/or sound), Trigger warning: in this performance (sexual) violence is mentioned, Trigger warning: this performance mentions trauma, Trigger warning: this performance mentions unacceptable behavior
- Toilet for wheelchair users: yes, Wheelchair accessible: yes
“I need police, I need political asylum.” One step to part with the past and start building a new life. But to begin a new life, it is necessary to remember everything that happened before and tell the immigration officials about your past.
All refugees go through this procedure (in 2023, about 50,000 people, including Alice, applied for asylum in the Netherlands). By sharing her story with immigration officials in the Schiphol Airport prison, Alice hopes to find freedom and a new homeland.
A personal and moving theatre performance that tells the story of Alice, a transgender activist who grew up in Russia, where her own identity faced political oppression.
Biography
Vladlena Sandu was born in Crimea, in Ukraine (USSR). After her parents divorce, she moved to mother’s hometown Grozny in the Chechen Republic. In 1994 Chechen War began, and she grew up during four years under war conditions.
In 2016, she graduated from the VGIK, in the field of film directing.
In 2019, she graduated Studio of theater direction.
Graduation documentary film “Holy God” is about Sandu’s memory of the Chechenian war. “Holy God” was selected in many international film festivals (Leipzig DOC, Rotterdam Film Festival etc) and got several awards.
Next film “Eight Images from the life of Nastya Sokolova” premiered at the Rotterdam Film Festival and was awarded the Silver Eye Award 2018 by the Institute of Documentary Film (Czech Republic).
At the start of the Russian war against Ukraine (March 2022), Sandu escaped from Russia. Now Sandu lives and works in Amsterdam.
There, she could finalize “No Nation Without Culture”, which was selected in many festivals and was awarded Best Short Film 2023 at the GoEast IFF (Germany).
In 2023 Sandu directed a new autobiographical stage performance, “The Rainbow Cinema”, which received the Best Amsterdam Fringe 2023 Award.
credits
Author and Director: Vladlena Sandu
Actress: Donna Demoon (she) @donnademoon
Art Support: Paulien Geerlings @pauliengeerlings and Nina van Tongeren @ninavantongeren
Choreography: Polly Mir @polly.mir
Voice: Floyd Koster
Costume Designer: Anna Chistova @annachistova
Photographer: Roman Ermolaev
Fundraising: Marjolein van Bommel, Michelle Gill
Financial support: AFK, W.E. Jansen Fonds, the Cultuurfonds, Nederlands Letterenfonds
Partners: FreeRussiaNL, EQUAL Post