Zurich director shines light on Kyrgyz bride kidnapping
Kidnap a girl and marry her. Maria Brendle’s short film Ala Kachuu - Take and Run depicting the harsh Kyrgyz tradition of bride kidnapping has been nominated for the 2022 Oscars. The Zurich-based German film director hopes all girls fight for their rights.
This content was published on March 26, 2022 - 10:00 March 26, 2022 - 10:00
Kaoru Uda
SWI swissinfo.ch: Why did you make a film about bride kidnapping?
Maria Brendle: I didn't know anything about bride kidnapping until 2016, when a friend of mine who travelled through Kyrgyzstan told me about his experience. There was a girl with a sad face in one of the pictures that he took. He said, “She is kidnapped,” and told me that in Kyrgyzstan it is usual that men kidnap women to marry.
I could not believe it. I started to research the issue and learned that many girls were the victim of bride kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan, in Central Asia, and in some parts of Africa. But among my friends and my family no one knew about this. I felt ashamed that I had never heard about it.
As a filmmaker, I wanted to change the fact that no one knows about the fate of these girls by producing a film. This is how the journey started.
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