THREE ROOMS OF MELANCHOLIA
This award-winning, stunningly beautiful documentary reveals how the Chechen War has psychologically affected children in Russia and in Chechnya. Divided into three episodes or 'rooms,' the film is characterized by an elegantly paced observational style, which uses little dialog, minimal voice-over commentary and a spare but evocative musical score.
'Three Rooms of Melancholia', which poetically blends sustained close-ups of children's faces with gray, fog-shrouded landscapes, illuminates the emotional devastation wrought on youngsters who have little or no understanding of the historical and political reasons for the bitter conflict. In an even more troubling sense, the film also makes clear how the seeds of hatred are being instilled in young minds that will likely fuel the conflict into the next generation.
Release: 2005 (Denmark)
Duration: 106 minutes
Genre: Documentary feature
Spoken language: Russian, Arabic, Chechen and Finnish
Director: Pirjo Honkasalo
Screenplay: Pirjo Honkasalo
Cinematography: Pirjo Honkasalo
Editors: Niels Pagh Andersen and Pirjo Honkasalo
Sound Design: Martti Turunen and Olli Pärnänen
Composer: Sanna Salmenkallio
Producers: Pirjo Honkasalo and Kristiina Pervilä
Production Countries: Finland, Denmark, Germany and Sweden
Production Company: Millenium Film Oy
Coproducers: Ma.Ja.De Filmproduktion, Heino Deckert, LG Film, Magic Hour Films and Lisbet Gabrielsson Film
Produced with support from: Arte, The Danish Film Institute, AVEK, SES Finnish Film Foundation, The MEDIA Programme of the European Community, Nordic Film- & TV Fund, SVT, The Swedish Filminstutute, YLE TV2 Dokumenttiprojekti and ZDF.
The film was nominated for the 2005 Jussi Awards in the category Best Cinematography, Best Film at the 2005 Mar del Plata Film Festival, Nordic Council's 2005 Nordic Council's Film Prize, the 2005 Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival and the Robert and Frances Flaherty Prize at the 2005 Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival.
The fIlm won the 2004 Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival Amnesty International - DOEN Award, CPH:DOX's 2004 CPH:DOX Award, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2005 Seeds of War price, Jussi Awards' 2005 Best Music & Best Documentary Film, Prix Italia 2005 TV Documentaries - Current Affairs Award, Tampere International Short Film Festival 2005 Main Prize, Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival 2005 FIPRESCI Prize, Venice Film Festival 2004 EIUC Award - Special Mention, Human Rights Film Network Award & Lina Mangiacapre Award, and Yerevan International Film Festival 2005 Best Documentary Film.