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Documentary about war-branded young dancers from Grozny who go on tour through Western Europe. Dans, Grozny dans (The Damned and the Sacred) demonstrates the fragility of these children's lives.
'Nobody is in shape and nobody's costume fits.' The dancing coach dejectedly addresses his Chechen youth dance group Daymokhk. 'We will have to fight. It is our mission to show the world that we are normal.' After this pep talk, the war-branded young dancers go on a tour in an old bus, from the shattered capital of Grozny in Chechnya to the prosperous cities of Amsterdam and London. The children prove that they exist; they dance superbly. Backstage, they tell filmmaker Jos de Putter about their lives and war experiences. 'I remember, but am unable to talk about it.' De Putter alternates their stories with images of their devastated fatherland. Dans, Grozny dans (The Damned and the Sacred) demonstrates the fragility of these children's lives.

Credits

Production company
Zeppers Film & TV
TV company
IKON TV
Distributor NL
Eye Filmmuseum

Title: Dans, Grozny dans
Year: 2002
Duration : 1 hour, 14 minutes
Category: Long Documentary
Edition: NFF 2003

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You are now in the NFF Archive. The archive contains contains information on film, TV and interactive productions that were screened at past festival editions. The NFF does not dispose of this material. For this, please contact the producer, distributor or broadcaster. Sometimes, older films can also be found at the Eye Film Museum or the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision.