On this Day

This film in three parts explores traditions in rural Albania and the role of women in society. The project begins by describing the filmmaker’s relationship to the country and an unwanted personal sacrifice which solidifies this connection. The film moves into a poetic portrayal of village life and the roles of women in society and concludes with a video piece, revealing the villagers active participation in their own depiction.

This work began as a diary, a filmmaker?s notes to herself. As she struggles to document a pilgrimage of religious Jews to the Ukrainian city of Uman, she comes to recognize that her own journey warrants examining. This piece is a work-in- progress, an ever-changing document revealing intimate details and private moments of joy, doubt and fear.

This film depicts the meaning of the months of the year in the Ukrainian language. Each month is presented and followed with a title card which gives the name of the month in Ukrainian Cyrillic, the meaning of that name in italics, and the name of the month in English. This film speaks to the concept of language acquisition, as you are presented the word for the month but are not given a transliteration. If you are unable to read the letters, you cannot know how the word will sound.