Ukraine Is Not A Brothel

NEW DOCS

Members of the “sextremist” FEMEN sisterhood shave and color their hair, scrawl messages of protest across their bared breasts, and storm public spaces, risking arrest to draw attention to feminist causes. But the story is more complicated: one member is a stripper, the group’s funding comes largely from male fans, and only beautiful, thin women seem to be taken seriously by the group. And then there’s Victor, a mysterious voice who masterminds FEMEN’s stunts from the shadows. With amazing access to the women’s lives, filmmaker Kitty Green gets us inside this now-famous protest movement in Ukraine and unspools an increasingly complex tale. Facing a government crackdown and the possibility of jail time, the members of FEMEN begin to rethink the group’s power structure, and so a movement within the movement begins. Looming throughout is the inevitable confrontation with Victor.  RS

Director

Kitty Green

Producers

Kitty Green, Jonathan auf der Heide, Michael Latham

Editor

Kitty Green

Cinematographer

Michael Latham

Original Title

Ukraina Ne Bordel

Release Year

2013

Festival Year

2014

Country

Ukraine, Australia

Run Time

80 minutes

Subtitled

Yes