International Competition

This is the first film that has documented the old wedding tradition in the former Soviet Republic of Kyrgyzstan. When a young man decides to get married, he steels himself a bride! Although kidnapping girls for wedding was banned in 1994, almost one half of marriages are entered into this way and half of these women have been forced to marry. When a potential bride is kidnapped, a delegation is sent to her parents to find out whether she would accept the offer. Negotiations are often deeply traumatic for those girls who oppose forced marriage; numerous conversations with their family reveal rich Kyrgyz tradition, as well as strong resistance to it – no wonder, given the fact that the country is becoming modern and young girls want to get educated and make their own decisions about their love life.