Dartmouth Events

Carmen, or an Unfortunate Love Story of Hanspeter from Oberkassel, that Made My Children Happy in a Foreign Country, 2022

In the 1980s a middle class German boy falls in love with a travelling circus woman named Carmen, only to have his heart broken when she disappears.
Trying to mend his broken heart, Hanspeter set up an amateur circus school in the backyard of his home, which became a refuge for the struggling kids. Nearly 40 years later journalist Yulia Vishnevetskaya crosses Germany in search of this fleeting woman who unknowingly created a powerful impact of a lasting legacy. A road movie with a flair of comedy and drama, this film is a tender reflection on the circus of life, love and the dying trade.

Yulia Vishnevets is a journalist, documentary filmmaker and director of over 20 non-fiction films. She has worked as a reporter, translator and photographer in various media. Between 2013-2014 she reported for Deutsche Welle in Germany. Since 2015 she has been staff current affairs documentary maker for the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Current Time TV channel in Russia. Her documentary feature "Hey! Teachers!" received 2020 Best Documentary Feature National Award in Russia; special jury prize at Krakow film festival and Golden Apricot film festival in Yerevan; was the first runner-up at HKIDF in Hong Kong and part of the Best of Fests program in the IDFA festival. Her short films were recognised by professional nominations and awards in Russia and abroad.

In September 2022 she was detained while trying to film an anti-military demonstration in Russia, spent 5 days in prison in a North Caucasian village and had to leave the country being at risk of criminal prosecution. Now lives in Georgia.

Sponsored by the Russian Department and German Department