Press
"Flowers of Freedom, one of the best documentaries in the past year at the Berlinale." RBB
" A warm-hearted, humorous film about women in resistance, which also raises hope for a better management of our raw materials." kino.de
"To watch these women activists is encouraging - and fun." Der Kurier
"Leuze`s film is sensitive, poignant and meaningful." Kino-zeit.de
"A portrait of exemplary courage." programmkino.de
"This film tenaciously follows developments over a very long period of time, with good access to a variety of activist protagonists and therefore manages to unravel multi-layered interactions between local, national and even global players. It offers a hopeful monument to local agency. The future of our environment seems dependent on people like Erkingul; not only "free and powerful yet tender like a flower" - but with leadership skills and indifference to intimidation too."
Göttingen International Ethnographic Filmfestival 2016
"Flowers of Freedom" is a fantastic film for teaching about contemporary Central Asia. Through its fined-grained and subtle portrait of a village-based movement for environmental justice, it explores themes of mining, activism, and the work of seeking justice in contemporary Kyrgyzstan. It is also a portrait of a remarkable group of women and a demonstration of the kinds of insights that can be gained from long-term ethnographic immersion into their lives and aspirations. Those teaching on gender, nationhood, politics and protest in Central Asia will find this film a great resource--subtle, funny, beautifully observed, and resisting tired stereotypes about the dynamics of political protest in Kyrgyzstan.”
Dr. Madeleine Reeves, Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology, University of Manchester, Associate Editor, Central Asian Survey
"Cut to include the film-makers' voice and presence, it unobtrusively lays bare the film-makers relationships and conditions of film production. "Flowers of Freedom" thus offers an exemplary point of departure for discussing the increasingly compelling need to reformulate power dynamics in media representation, as well as issues of authority in scholarly and journalistic practice."
Dr. Jeanne Féaux de la Croix, Junior Research Group Leader, Cultural History of Water in Central Asia, University of Tuebingen
press coverage in German language
RBB, "12 Uhr mittags" - Das Filmmagazin vom 28.3.2015, Flowers of Freedom - Film über mutige Frauen in Kirgistan. Mirjam Leuze im Interview mit Knut Elstermann. Interview anhören >>
Funkhaus Europa, Piazza am 26.3.2015, Sendung anhören >>
WDR 5, Neugier genügt am 26. März 2015, Redezeit mit Mirjam Leuze, Moderation Ralph Erdenberger. Sendung anhören >>
SWR 2, Kultur regional am 25. März 2015 von Herbert Spaich: Das politische Engagement der Filmemacherin Mirjam Leuze, FLOWERS OF FREEDOM
Deutschlandfunk, Corsogespräch 24.3.2015, Blumen der Freiheit für Kirgisistan, Mirjam Leuze im Gespräch mit Sigrid Fischer
Süddeutsche Zeitung, Jetzt im Kino: Wilde Mischung, Flowers of Freedom, 25.03.2015
Junge Welt, Die halbe Wahrheit, Filmbesprechung von Kai Köhler, 26.03.2015
Filmdienst, Filmbesprechung von Katrin Häger, 19.03.2015
Kino-Zeit.de, Filmbesprechung von Andreas Köhnemann, März 2015
Programmkino.de, Filmbesprechung von Michael Meyns, März 2015
Kultura Extra, Helga Fitzner im Gespräch mit Regisseurin Mirjam Leuze, Editorin Sandra Brandl sowie Tamara Djuscheeva und Bübükan Ormonova (Mitgliedern der kirgisischen Umwelt-und Menschenrechtsinitiative KAREK)
Interview with Mirjam Leuze, Campus TV during the FrauenWelten Filmfestival in Tübingen - Nov.2014
Flowers of Freedom - Review von Mahabat Sadyrbek - 2014 - German
Resonanzen WDR 3 - Interview with Mirjam Leuze - 4.2.2014 - German
Deutschlandradio - Interview with Mirjam Leuze - 10.2.2014 - German
Der Teckbote - Das dreckige Geschäft mit dem glänzenden Gold - 11.2.2014 - German
Radio 1 - Interview with Mirjam Leuze and Erkingül Imankodjoeva - 12.2.2014 - German
Der deutsche Film zwischen Fernweh und Heimat - Das Kulturgespräch im Deutschlandfunk - 14.2.2014 mit
- Mirjam Leuze - Ethnologin und Filmemacherin
- Franziska Schönenberger - Journalistin und Filmemacherin
- Daniel Sponsel - künstlerischer Leiter des Dokumentarfilmfestivals München
DW-World - Deutscher Nachwuchs entdeckt die Welt - 14.2.2014 - German
DW-TV - Arts.21 - Strong Women in Former Soviet Republics - 15.2.2014 - English
Haus des Dokumentarfilms - Berlinale 2014 - Deutsche Filme mit frischem Blick - 16.2.2014 - German
Filmstiftung NRW - Erfolgreiche Premiere für Flowers of Freedom - 16.2.2014 - German
Downloads for journalists - Presskit English - German
Presskit for Download, German