Film Screening & Discussion. “No Place for You in Our Town”
Important Note
Registration required. Please note that all attendees must follow Columbia’s COVID-19 Policies and Guidelines. Columbia University is committed to protecting the health and safety of its community. To that end, all visiting alumni and guests must meet the University requirement of full vaccination status in order to attend in-person events. Vaccination cards may be checked upon entry to all venues.
Please join the East Central European Center and the Harriman Institute for a screening of No Place for You in Our Town, and a subsequent discussion with the director and producer. This is part of the HARD QUESTIONS, HARD ANSWERS series of contemporary documentary films from Eastern Europe on social and political topics.
No Place for You in Our Town pulls you into the heads of the football hooligans from the roughest city in Bulgaria — Pernik. A once flourishing industrial center, today all that’s left is the urban legend about its citizens’ toughness — an echo of the miners’ brave and glorious past underground. Having exclusive access, Nikolay Stefanov’s camera silently follows Tsetso, a skinhead and single father; the gang leader Dado; and Mimeto, the only woman in the group. They are all devoted to helping their team rise from the last league, reliving the strength and unity of their ancestors, the miners. Their usual lifestyle, however, gets seriously challenged when Tsetso falls ill and stays in the hospitals for months, while the decaying city faces a grave water crisis caused by corruption and crime. Amidst the serious personal and communal crises, Nikolay Stefanov’s camera peeks underneath the hooligans’ tough and rough appearance and explores their lives – and the lives of millions like them across the globe – with openness and genuine human curiosity.
