MAGIC SCISSORS

БЕЛ РУС EN

a film after Jewish fairytales

Style: sentimental comedy with elements of mystic
Duration: 60 minutes
Without voice, black and white, amateur
Subtitle: Belorussian, Russian

Script: Anna Avota

Film crew:
Moviemaker – Natalia Holava
Camera operator – Natalia Bucnevich, Pavel Slepuhin, Valentina Cvirko
Actors and the crowd – participants of the historical dance Club of the Children and Youth Creativity Centre in Borisov, event community “Borisovskaya Myza”, Vidaris theatre
Furniture and costumes – Vidaris theatre, costume designer — Ludmila Goodilina

Сharacters:

CEITL, the first ladie
from the agency of Madame Sopha
/Vlada Mikhailova/

ETL, the second ladie
from the agency of Madame Sopha
/Natalia Golova/

MOISHE,
doctor
/Alexey Ivanov/

JOSEF,
rabbi
/Vitaly Peslyak/

All the participants of the project are volunteers.

The film was shot by movie lovers of Borisov in August-September 2017. The main filming locations are alive decorations of the old town, which remind the first half of the 20th century where the architecture of the period was partially remained. It is known that before the revolution mainly these blocks belonged to the Jews. Shops, photo studios, craft producers and several synagogues were situated here. It is possible to see a building of the former big choral synagogue from a small cozy yard .In the yard the main events of the film story such as meetings, gossips, wedding take part.

But film is not an exact reenactment of live and customs of the Jews in Borisov. It is rather a composite character, a little bit romantic author’s imagine of the time when about 80% of the citizens were jews.

The story is a fairytale, it tells about adventures of a poor tailor Shmuel that lives in an average Jewish place somewhere in the East Europe. He inherited magic scissors from his grandfather. When Shmuel`s mother dies he under sentimental sadness pours the last money down the drain and even sells the grandfather`s scissors. In the morning it turns out that he also drunk away the advanced payment received for a big order and eventually bought a fiancée…with a surprise. But fairytale is a fairytale for the main character gets into trouble and thanks to different challenges not only returns the things he owed but also receives a fate`s gift. That’s why the fairytale should obviously end in a wedding. But not the one that was planned in the beginning. And as the film was shot by dancers of cause it is indispensable without dances.

It will be possible to watch the film only in the form of an “alive” movie voiced by an orchestra. The musicians will accompany the action in the screen by Belorussian and Jewish music that was really plaid during parties and weddings some time ago. A chamber hall, a screen, a projection machine, perhaps an equipment for voicing the cello the violin the accordion and the tambourine will be needed for screening. It will be good if the furniture in the room was movable and the viewers were ready to dance a little bit.

The premiere took place on 10 May 2018.

2017 (c) myza.by