Video, 13:37; 2012 Living in Sami commune in Karasjok in the north of Norway I was impressed by the combination of high technology and the natural environment, traditions and contemporary life, the past and the present in one place at the same time. The old traditional wooden storage-buildings reminded me of the world of Russian folklore and fairytales. Baba Yaga, one of the main characters of Russian fairytales, lives in a log cabin that looks exactly the same. Baba Yaga is the Wise Woman who represents the matriarchal structure of the ancient world. I have found that this way of living still has strong power here in the north of Europe despite the fact that women here are trying to fight for their rights as in the rest of the world. That was also a reason why I chose the structure and the language of fairytale for my film WOMENLAND. The film consists of several stories, which different people have told me during my stay in Karasjok. In all these stories the main character is a woman.
