{"id":24967,"title":"I wanted to be Happy in the USSR","dimensions":"","date_begin":"2007-01-01","material":"","art_status_id":13,"legal_status_id":47,"category_id":21,"platform_id":1,"deleted":false,"asset_count":2,"stream_count":0,"collection":"Courtesy of the artist","cached_tag_list":"","publishing_process_id":1,"annotation":"","date_end":"2020-01-01","reference":"","stream_count_app":30,"permalink":"i-wanted-to-be-happy-in-the-ussr","description_ca":"","short_description_ca":"","description_it":"","short_description_it":"","cached_primary_asset_url":"http://s3.amazonaws.com/mhka_ensembles_production/assets/public/000/053/676/medium_500/Venkov__I_wanted_to_be_happy.jpg?1586421415","cached_actor_names":"Dimitri Venkov","hide_from_json":false,"prev_platform_id":null,"description_uk":null,"short_description_uk":null,"description_tr":null,"short_description_tr":null,"mhka_works":false,"category":{"en":"Video","nl":"Video","fr":"Video"},"poster_image":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/mhka_ensembles_production/assets/public/000/053/676/large/Venkov__I_wanted_to_be_happy.jpg?1586421415","poster_credits":"© Dimitri Venkov","translations":[{"locale":"en","short_description":"","description":"\u003cp\u003eDimitri Venkov is part of the emerging generation of politically-engaged artists in Moscow. Venkov works across the broad spectrum of film-making approaches, from cinematic to documentary, seeking to reflect the conditions of a society divided by politics, history and social conventions. His documentary \u003cem\u003eI Wanted to be Happy in the USSR\u003c/em\u003e, follows the struggle of Guinean immigrant George Blemu, together with his Ukrainian wife Elena and their two daughters Anne and Maria in Moscow. Blemu, came to the USSR to be a medical student in 1979 under what was then the official policy of \u0026ldquo;friendships among peoples\u0026rdquo;, with the intention to settle. The dissolution of the USSR and the eventual rise of nationalist sentiments in Russia led to an increase of hate speech and violence towards non-Russians. For Blemu and his family, violence and hostility became everyday experiences, even being stabbed by the police, or in the case of their daughter Maria, physically attacked within the care of the school. Under these unliveable circumstances, Blemu and his family had no option but to leave, and following advice, they eventually travel to Norway under a tourist visa, seeking asylum. Blemu\u0026rsquo;s story is testimony to conditions in Russia today, where those who don\u0026rsquo;t fit the image of national monoculture, struggle to survive in the daily presence of violence.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n"},{"locale":"nl","short_description":"","description":"\u003cp\u003eDimitri Venkov maakt deel uit van een opkomende generatie van politiek ge\u0026euml;ngageerde kunstenaars uit Moskou. Hij probeert de omstandigheden te tonen van een samenleving die\u0026nbsp; verdeeld is door politiek, geschiedenis en sociale conventies, en werkt daarbij met een breed spectrum van filmische benaderingen, van filmisch tot documentair. Zijn documentaire \u003cem\u003eI Wanted to be Happy in the USSR\u003c/em\u003e volgt de strijd van de Guinese immigrant George Blemu en zijn Oekra\u0026iuml;ense vrouw Elena die in Moskou leven met hun twee dochters, Anne en Maria. Blemu kwam in 1979 naar de USSR om geneeskunde te studeren onder het toenmalige offici\u0026euml;le beleid van \u0026#39;vriendschappen tussen volkeren\u0026#39;; hij wou er zich ook settelen. Het uiteenvallen van de USSR en de daaropvolgende revival van nationalistische stemmingen in Rusland leidden tot een toename van openlijk hatelijke uitlatingen en geweld tegen niet-Russen. Dat geweld en die vijandigheid werden voor Blemu en zijn familie dagelijks ervaren ze werden zelfs neergestoken door de politie, en hun dochter Maria werd fysiek aangevallen op school \u0026ndash; die zich precies over haar had moeten ontfermen. In deze onleefbare omstandigheden hadden Blemu en zijn gezin geen andere keuze dan te vertrekken. Ze kregen de raad om met een toeristenvisum naar Noorwegen te reizen, waar ze uiteindelijk asiel aanvroegen. Blemu\u0026#39;s verhaal getuigt van de huidige omstandigheden in Rusland, waar degenen die niet passen bij het beeld van nationale monocultuur worstelen om te overleven, dagelijks belaagd door geweld.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n"},{"locale":"fr","short_description":"","description":"\u003cp\u003eDimitri Venkov fait partie de la g\u0026eacute;n\u0026eacute;ration \u0026eacute;mergente d\u0026#39;artistes politiquement engag\u0026eacute;s \u0026agrave; Moscou. Venkov travaille \u0026agrave; travers le large spectre des approches cin\u0026eacute;matographiques, du cin\u0026eacute;ma au documentaire, cherchant \u0026agrave; refl\u0026eacute;ter les conditions d\u0026#39;une soci\u0026eacute;t\u0026eacute; divis\u0026eacute;e par la politique, l\u0026#39;histoire et les conventions sociales. Son documentaire \u003cem\u003eI Wanted to be Happy in the USSR\u003c/em\u003e, suit la lutte de l\u0026#39;immigrant guin\u0026eacute;en George Blemu, avec sa femme ukrainienne Elena et leurs deux filles Anne et Maria \u0026agrave; Moscou. Blemu arriva en URSS pour \u0026eacute;tudier la m\u0026eacute;decine en 1979 dans le cadre de ce qui \u0026eacute;tait alors la politique officielle des \u0026laquo; amiti\u0026eacute;s entre les peuples \u0026raquo;, avec l\u0026#39;intention de s\u0026#39;installer. La dissolution de l\u0026#39;URSS et la mont\u0026eacute;e finale des sentiments nationalistes en Russie conduisirent \u0026agrave; une augmentation du discours de haine et de la violence envers les non-russes. Pour Blemu et sa famille, la violence et l\u0026#39;hostilit\u0026eacute; devinrent des exp\u0026eacute;riences quotidiennes. Il fut m\u0026ecirc;me poignard\u0026eacute; par la police et leur fille Maria fut agress\u0026eacute;e physiquement dans l\u0026rsquo;enceinte de l\u0026#39;\u0026eacute;cole. Dans ces circonstances invivables, Blemu et sa famille n\u0026#39;eurent d\u0026#39;autre choix que de partir et, suivant des conseils qui leur avaient \u0026eacute;t\u0026eacute; donn\u0026eacute;s, ils se rendirent finalement en Norv\u0026egrave;ge avec des visas de touristes pour demander l\u0026#39;asile. L\u0026#39;histoire de Blemu t\u0026eacute;moigne des conditions en Russie aujourd\u0026#39;hui, o\u0026ugrave; ceux qui ne correspondent pas \u0026agrave; l\u0026#39;image de la monoculture nationale luttent pour survivre dans la pr\u0026eacute;sence quotidienne de la violence.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n"},{"locale":"ru","short_description":"","description":""},{"locale":"de","short_description":"","description":""},{"locale":"es","short_description":"","description":""},{"locale":"el","short_description":"","description":""}],"actors":[{"id":3124,"name":"Dimitri Venkov","category":{"en":"Creator","nl":"Vervaardiger","fr":"Créateur"}}]}