United States Premiere

Coming from a land of bards and minstrels, Tales of Intransigence is a celebration of the timeless art of storytelling.

A winter contest between a horse-drawn sleigh and a new, bright-red minibus, as they race between two villages on the borders of a frozen lake, is the framework on which the tales are hung. As the stories unfold, the passengers in the minibus, the sleigh, and the film audience itself, are enthralled and drawn as participants into the tales. The stories, all with the common theme of intransigence, range from brilliantly embellished folktales of dueling minstrels to a deliciously played out shaggy dog joke.

There is only one professional actor in the film. The rest are all people from the region, all intimately familiar with the tradition of communal participation in storytelling. Almost completely improvised, the film merges narrative, documentary and even experimental filmmaking to create something completely unique?both incredibly ancient and totally fresh and new. With a visual flair and directness redolent of Paradjanov, this is a film to relish, and enjoy, one you will want to see more than once.

Charlie Cockey

EMERGING MAVERICKS / NEW VISIONS