Qyrq Qyz (Forty Girls), a multimedia retelling of a ancient Central Asian epic, comes to the BAM Harvey Theater for two nights. Context is everything, so get even closer to the production with this curated selection of related articles and videos. After you've attended the show, let us know what you thought by posting in the comments below and on social media using #QyrqQyz and @BAM_Brooklyn.
Program Notes
Interview
Ancient Girl Power Revisited (BAM blog)
“[W]e live in a time when women are finding new forms of emancipation,” and Uzbek filmmaker Saodat Ismailova hopes Qyrq Qyz will be “one of the projects that illuminates and contributes to expanding the boundaries of female expression.”
Article
Mighty Women Warriors, Resurrected From an Ancient Epic (The New York Times)
"The story dates back more than 2,000 years but has a strikingly contemporary theme: how a band of female warriors in the deserts of Central Asia had—long before #metoo became a rallying cry in the West—resisted aggression by the men who wanted to conquer them."
Article
The Real Amazon Warriors (The New Yorker)
Greek Amazons were elaborately tattooed, invented trousers, and smoked cannabis.
Website
Aga Khan Music Initiative (Aga Khan Development Network)
This interregional program supports the work of musicians and music educators to preserve, transmit, and develop their musical heritage in contemporary forms.
Watch
Video
Qyrq Qyz Artist Talk (YouTube)
Saodat Ismailova speaks with Dartmouth music professor Ted Levin about Qyrq Qyz and her epic journey to bring the Central Asian steppes to the screen and stage.
Video
40 Days of Silence (YouTube)
Trailer for director Ismailova's debut feature film.
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