4A
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2008
CULTURE
Student film premieres for international audience
BY SACHIKO MIYAKAWA
smiyakawa@kansan.com
Sandra Ristovska was worried when she saw the traditions of her home — the Republic of Macedonia — eroding. It motivated her to make "Kaleidoscope" a documentary that captured how traditions influenced the formation of cultural and national identities of Macedonians.
Pistovska, a Skopje, Republic
Ristovska, a of Macedonia, junior, came to the United States in 2006 to study theater and film at the University of Kansas.
The 45-minute film is her first long documentary, which she wrote, directed, pro-
Sandra Ristovska, a theatre and film major at the University of Kansas, made a documentary about the importance of culture and how it changes. She worked on the film for about a year and a half. [THIRD WASHINGTON]
speak and to be open<sup>a</sup>. Ristovska said.
"Suddenly the film was out there in front of everyone. It's like leaving your baby to someone else."
Most of the documentary was shot in Macedonia during her breaks from school. She spent a year and half working on it. She traveled to Macedonia twice to shoot the film and she edited it at the University.
The film premiered at the international cultural festival "Skopje Summer in Macedonia" in July. Katja Esson, an Academy Award-
duced and edited herself.
SANDRA RISTOVSKA
Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
junior
nominated documentary filmmaker, wrote a positive review of the film. The film was also screened at the International Conference for Macedonian Language, Literature and Culture and at
The film shows Macedonian traditional handcrafters whose traditions have been undermined by globalization and a shift in the interests of younger generations. She interviewed several handcrafters and urban artists in an effort to find ways to preserve cultural traditions of Macedonia.
Tyler Waugh/KANSAN
"It was a challenge to make them
the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Dortmund, Germany, in August.
"Suddenly the film was out there in front of everyone," Ristovska said. "It's like leaving your baby to someone else."
It took a while to tell her parents, who both had business degrees and worked as financial managers.
She said she became interested in producing films in high school, but filmmaking wasn't considered a solid career option in Macedonia.
"They were shocked when I first told them," Ristovska said. "I had to explain to my parents that was something I always wanted to do, but I never had courage to say."
Her parents eventually supported her. She studied at the London Film School before transferring to the University, Ristovska said studying in London ensured her confidence and aspiration to be a filmmaker. Meeting people from different ages and backgrounds also benefited her, she said.
German filmmaker Nathalie Schulten, director of photography for "Kaleidoscope," was among the people she met in London.
She came to the University after spending a year in London.
Muriel Green, Pittsburgh senior, worked on film projects with Ristovska at the University.
"She never talks about things like weather. She always likes to have an intense, real and deep discussion," Green said. "She's capable of asking the right questions and pushed me to figured out what I'm trying to express."
Lawrence, as opposed to London and Skopie.
Ristovska said she enjoyed filmmaking in Lawrence because of its friendly atmosphere for artists. She said she was surprised how easy it was to get permission to film in
In "Kaleidoscope," Ristovska worked with filmmakers and artists from Germany, Poland, Macedonia and the U.S. She said living in different countries prepared her to communicate with different people and appreciate other cultures, as
well as her own.
"Film is a collaborative art," Ristovska said. "Meeting all those people really helps me communicate my ideas better."
Ristovska said she plans to submit "Kaleidoscope" to more international film festivals and screen the film at the University after
its subtitles were completed. She said although the film was about Macedonian culture, its theme could be applied to any country that experiences struggles between traditions and rapid modernization.
- Edited by Andy Greenhaw
VOLUNTEERING
Africa trip inspires new relief group
BY JESSE TRIMBLE jtrimble@kansan.com
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Last semester, Hannah Parkinson was a student focused on classes and homework. But one trip to South Africa spent working with
Hannah Parkinson visits South Africa on a trip to see orphanes and AIDS clinics. Parkinson recently founded Kansas Africa Relief, Inc., a group meant to raise money for these places.
orphans and AIDS patients during the summer changed everything she wanted to help them.
Parkinson, Shawnee senior, went to Africa with a group she was a member of in high school. The group toured AIDS clinics and orphanages. When she returned, Parkinson formed Kansas Afrika Relief, Inc., a nonprofit organization focused on raising money and awareness for AIDS in South Africa.
There were three specific areas in South Africa to which KAR decided to donate funds: the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, Nkosi's Haven, which is an orphanage for children who lost parents to AIDS or had parents with HIV, and the ACTS clinic in rural South Africa, which assists people with AIDS.
"I couldn't believe what I saw there," Parkinson said. "In Cape Town, if you weren't white, you were kicked out of the city."
"I just loved my experience so much I had to do something about it to help," said Parkinson, the founding executive director and only student member of KAR.
Parkinson said that outside the city, people built shacks out of whatever material they could find.
pass by the shacks to get to the city, because we don't see things like that in the United States," Parkinson said.
"It's really disturbing when you
Since its inception in July, KAR has raised more than $1,000 as of Sept. 16. Parkinson said KAR's seven-member board donated $250 every month to the Apartheid Museum, which funds field trips, school lunches and educational programs for underprivileged schools.
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"Most of the organizations out there didn't target the areas Hannah and I wanted to focus on," Benger said.
Benger has never traveled to South Africa but said it was because of Parkinson that he decided to join the group.
"She was very enthusiastic upon her return," Benger said. "After seeing her passion and the efforts and energy she has put into this, it made it hard to say no."
Parkinson said she also formed KAR to help make medical assistance more available.
"South Africa has strict rules on who can get medication due to the shortage over there," Parkinson said. "You basically have to be at death's door before you can receive any medication."
Four times a year, money raised by KAR will go to the Nkosi's Haven orphanage, where Parkinson said kids needed supplies ranging from computers to renovated buildings.
KAR and Applebee's Neighborhood Grill. 2520 S. Iowa St., are sponsoring donation nights today and tomorrow. Any patrons with a KAR flier will automatically have 10 percent of their bill donated to KAR. Fliers can be picked up on Massachusetts St. or printed from www.KARE利.com.
Brandon Dye, kitchen manager at Applebee's, said that the program used was called "Dining to Donate" and that any organization could fill out a tax form to participate.
KAR will also be in front of Wescow Hall on Sept. 26 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to collect old cell phones and printer cartridges. The group will turn in the old equipment for money, which will then go to one of the specified areas in South Africa.
Benger said volunteers who wanted to help with KAR were welcome and could sign up on the Web site.
Edited by Brenna Hawley