This weekend, the Ultimate Picutre Palace are hosting a screening of new documentary Women Behind the Wheel with a Q&A with the directors behind this film. Daily Info sat down with Hannah Congdon & Catherine Haigh to discuss their new work.
Daily Info: What's Women Behind the Wheel all about?
Cat and Hannah: Women Behind the Wheel is a road trip documentary with a feminist twist. It follows us - Cat and Hannah - as we take on the Pamir Highway through Central Asia. We use the journey to speak to as many women as possible along our route - encountering a Taekwondo world champion, women's rights campaigners, bee keepers, zoo keepers, doctors and many more.
DI: What can audiences expect from the film?
CH: It's a warm-hearted, accessible film that doesn't take itself - our ourselves - too seriously. Along the drive there are breakdowns, hairy border crossings, catastrophic detours, plus plenty of laughter and tears. But at the centre of the documentary are the stories of the women - women making tangible changes in their community often against all the odds. These are complex, contradictory, funny and inspiring women, many of whom defy expectations of gender in their region. It's a story of solidarity amongst women across borders and cultures.
DI: How was it to be both the directors and subject of the documentary?
CH: Both challenging and really rewarding. We were 22 when we shot this film, and it's taken years to do the edit because we had to keep stopping to apply for funding grants. So when we were piecing the film together, in some ways we felt like quite different people to the Cat and Hannah you see in the film - and that can feel pretty exposing! But we also felt it was important to make our naivety setting out on the journey part of the story. We wanted to show our mistakes and wrong assumptions, and hope that the film allows the audience to learn side by side with us.
DI: What were the high and low points of your journey along the Pamir Highway?
CH: Some of the highlights were actually at the physically highest points we travelled through. In the Pamir Mountains we drove along some of the most stunning and remote roads you've ever seen - we wouldn't see another person for almost the whole day. In the Pamirs we met some extraordinary women living in very isolated communities. In a small town called Gharm, we met women teaching their peers to bee farm in order to earn a small amount of income for themselves. It might not seem like much, but it was enough to shift their position within their marriages and families. It was a story that really stayed with us after we left.
In terms of low points - we had all sorts of hiccups along the way. Hannah got sick, we had multiple car breakdowns, and in several towns we were (perhaps understandably) met with suspicion when roaming around asking questions in front of a camera. So there were definitely some ups and downs, and we tried to be as frank as we could including them in the film.
DI: Can you sum the film up in three words?
CH: Solidarity, friendship and adventure.
Women Behind the Wheel is showing at the Ultimate Picture Palace on Sunday 5th March. Get your tickets now!