Focus Areas

The Network Women’s Program (NWP) and participating Soros foundations or institutional partners in former Soviet countries and Mongolia support the development of documentary films on women’s human rights issues, as well as educational programs for journalists to raise gender awareness in mainstream media.

Gender Montage: Paradigms in Post-Soviet Space

In 2001, the women’s programs at Soros foundations in 12 countries initiated and launched the pilot documentary film project, "Gender Montage: Paradigms in Post-Soviet Space." Coordinated by the NWP and the Institute for Social and Gender Policy (ISGP) in Russia, the project was conceived in recognition of the fact that there are few sources in the mass media that look critically at the impact of socioeconomic and political forces that shape patterns of gender in the post-Soviet era.

The goal of the project is threefold: 1) to make visible a large stratum of the widespread social, political, and economic problems of women living in the post-Soviet space in order to transform public thinking and, ultimately, to impact international and national economic and social policies; 2) to develop a community of educated and gender-sensitive documentary filmmakers, journalists, and media specialists; and 3) to create accessible, quality, and entertaining films that address pressing and relevant gender issues.

In 2003, the first collection of films from “Gender Montage” was released; it included nine documentary films, one from each of the following countries: Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. All films are available in local languages, and have English subtitles and Russian voiceover.

The films address acute yet overlooked problems in each country, including: women’s human rights violations, the impact of institutionalized inequality, and the effects of gender stereotyping. Films released in the future will continue to expose hidden and often controversial subjects, and search for new strategies for women’s self-expression and empowerment. They are designed to give audiences a better understanding of the countries and of gender issues from the perspectives of individuals from the region.

The nine films released in 2003 have been screened at several film festivals around the world, including the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam, the Sarajevo Film Festival, the One World International Film Festival in Prague, the Locarno (Switzerland) International Film Festival, the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Touring festival "Films from Along the Silk Road: Central Asian Cinema" (New York City), the international film festival "Message to Man" in St. Petersburg, and the Moscow Film Forum of CIS and Baltic Countries. The films were broadcast on all national television stations, as well as regional channels including "Culture" in Russia.

A brochure about the Gender Montage films is available for download below.

The films have already had a significant effect in their individual countries. They have influenced national legislation (Tajikistan and Uzbekistan); initiated parliamentary discussions on addressing problems highlighted in the films (Azerbaijan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan); prompted national research (Azerbaijan); sparked national debates on the issues raised(Estonia, Kyrgyzstan, and Mongolia); inspired television stations to start gender programs (Azerbaijan, Estonia, and Uzbekistan); prompted the opening of a women’s center (Georgia); been accepted as curriculum materials in regional universities (Estonia and Mongolia); been used for trainings (Georgia, Tajikistan, and Ukraine); and been used by gender and Slavic studies departments and summer schools for raising awareness and discussion about the region and women’s issues (all countries).

Buoyed by the success of the first collection of films and its widespread impact regionally and internationally, the NWP, ISGP, partner Soros foundations, and other institutional partners are launching a second film production cycle in 2004 to create a new collection of films. The project’s international advisory committee will offer advanced technical trainings as well as workshops on gender analysis for filmmakers from the region to develop their capacities and films.

The NWP is committed to raising additional outside funds in 2004 in order to bring the second collection of films to an even higher level of professionalism and success.

For more information on donor partnering, contact NWP Program Associate Phoebe Schreiner by email at pschreiner@sorosny.org.

Project Operating Information

Funding, technical assistance, and overall coordination for the project has been provided by the NWP, the ISGP, and Soros Foundation–Kazakhstan. Co-funding, management of country teams, and program design were provided by other Soros foundations in the region, including the Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation–Armenia, the Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation–Azerbaijan, the Open Estonia Foundation, the Open Society Georgia Foundation, the Soros Foundation–Kyrgyzstan, the Open Society Fund–Lithuania, the Mongolian Foundation for Open Society, the Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation–Tajikistan, the International Renaissance Foundation (Ukraine), and the Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation–Uzbekistan.

Grant Information

Guidelines for filmmaker participation in the Gender Montage project may be available in participating countries. For more information or referrals on obtaining an application, contact NWP Program Associate Phoebe Schreiner by email at pschreiner@sorosny.org.