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My name is Natalia Boorsma and this year I will graduate the University of the Arts Utrecht by writing and directing the short film Three Women Named Svetlana.

Motivation

"The grass is always greener on the other side"
My mother is from Serbia, a country which, in my eyes, is all about friendship, family, music, food and being together. I would love to move to Serbia one day. My Serbian cousin, on the other hand, desires of moving to Western Europe. She is fed up with the corrupt politics and lack of opportunities in Serbia. I am aware that I am in a privileged position, I have never been bothered by the corruption in Serbia and by the fact that you can hardly earn money. I only see the beauty of Serbia and the warmth of the people. When I visit Serbia I often wonder whether I am a tourist or a Serbian.
The contrast between my cousin and me both 'seeing greener grass on the other side' fascinated me and was the starting point of writing this film.

Synopsis
On a sunny spring day, three women all going by the name Svetlana, wait at a train station somewhere in Serbia.
The youngest Svetlana is 23 years old, she just graduated University and wants to move to Western Europe. She is frustrated by the political system in Serbia and its lack of opportunities. She is on her way to the Embassy in Belgrade.
The other woman is 35 years old, she is born in Miami but raised by Serbian parents. She loves to go to Serbia and enjoys being with her friends and family here, she loves how cheap everything is in Serbia. She is on her way to the airport after her visit.
The third Svetlana is the train conductor of the train station. She has been working here for over 20 years.The only thing the women have in common is that all three of them are named Svetlana. Although these women are far apart from each other; they have different opinions about Serbia and views and thoughts about life, the waiting brings them together.

The train station feels like an absurd theatre where characters come and go: a group of Roma musicians who walk along the rails with their instruments, a street dog who lifts his paw, pisses and walks on, and Dragan and Saša, the best friends of the youngest Svetlana, who drive past the three women with their Tomos.

Svetlana
When you see a Slavic woman in a Western European or American movie, it's almost always a prostitute or a cleaning lady with no backstory. I hardly see a Slavic female character in a Western European or American film in whom I can recognize my mother, my friends, my family or myself. I think it is important that there are more representative female characters in film and I think when it comes to Eastern European female characters there is still a lot to be gained here. I would like to use the most stereotyped female Slavic name, Svetlana, for all three main characters, to play with this stereotype and then give them the character background story which is missing in most films when it comes to Svetlana’s.

Why donate?

By donating you will be a part of making the film from script to screen!
Because your donation can help us cover equipment rental, travel expenses, catering, the distribution of the film, and other necessary expenses.

Our main goal for this story is to let the viewer think about the fact that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, because the value of what you desire does not always outweigh what you already have.
And, we think it is important to see more Slavic female characters in film, who are representative and in whom women can recognize themselves.

All of the crew sees the importance of this story, we hope you will see it as well!

Crew
Writer & Director - Natalia Boorsma
Executive Producer - Aglaja Filipović
Producer - Tara Milošević
Assistant Producer -Alisa Radovanac
Director of Photography - Vid Uršič
Assistant Director - Julia Ernesti
Art Director - Danica Milić
Art Assistant - Vanja Matasarecić
Sound - Djordje Petković
Editor- Nola Zeegers
Composer - Pier Woudstra
Graphic Designer - Sjoerd van Huijgevoort
Poster Designer - Tessa Hesseling

Would you like to stay up to date about the process of Three Women Named Svetlana? Follow our instagram page @svetlana.film

Feel free to get in touch to know more about our project!
[email protected]

Credits Crowdfunding video
Camera - Isabella Settels & Tara Milošević
Composer - Pier Woudstra
Translators - Thirza van Dijk, Sepp van Someren & Mila Kostić