Return to: ATA Film & Video Festival 2008: Program 2

The Stalin that was Played by Me

A scene from a feature film, a TV in the background and a handful of family pictures – that is all we need for an intriguing encounter with Yevgeni Jugashvili, the grandson and the spitting image of Joseph Stalin. Jugashvili adores the Man of Steel. Still, the latter never wanted to meet him, and the party leader mercilessly sacrificed his own son, Jugashvili’s father, in the Second World War. Manipulation, propaganda and social compulsion have spun a web of stories that have erased Yevgeni's personal identity. Still the filmmaker runs the risk of getting carried away by his enthusiasm. For the sake of her film, she conceals her own Jewish roots. In this way, the film also ponders the question of how far you should renounce who you are in order to pursue your goals.

Graduation film Rietveld Academie Amsterdam, 2006, Premiere: International Documentary Festival Amsterdam 2006

International Documentary Festival Amsterdam 2006, International Student Film & Photo Festival /SFPF Teheran 2006, Berlinale Berlin 2007, ‘Distorted Fabric’ The Shadow Cabinet. De Appel, Amsterdam 2007, 'Doublespeak’ . The artists’ arstists. The guest curator selection. (Solo) outLINE Amsterdam 2007, International Short Film Festival Oberhausen 2007, Yunfest Yunnan Multi Culture Film Festival China 2007, Independent Producers' International Film Festival Rumania 2007, Denver Film Society 2007, Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin/Madrid 2007, Amsterdam Shorts Festival 2008.

Daya Cahen studied photography at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. Her THE STALIN THAT WAS PLAYED BY ME was her film directing debut.

Last updated 09/09/2008.