WOMEN BEHIND THE WHEEL
Directed by Hannah Congdon and Catherine Haigh
Certificate: PG
☆☆☆☆

HAVING completed university, friends Hannah and Catherine were keen to plan a trip. But for the pair, both from Camden, this wasn’t going to be a gap-year-style adventure on well-beaten paths. Instead, the pair got a 4X4 and a camera, and set off on a trip through central Asia with the aim of making a film about the lives of women their age.

The result is an enlightening story of two people having their eyes opened wide, being receptive and empathetic to others, and discovering how fortunate they are, too.

As one interviewee points out, women in central Asia countries had lives shaped by a unique history. Under the Soviet Union, women were encouraged to work, study, and play a full role in society.

Aziza, the CEO of a consultancy firm, explained how higher education had been encouraged but after the fall of the USSR, there was a re-emergence of traditional culture and women were encouraged to think of what had gone on in times past – it led to a rise, for example, in women wearing headscarves.

They find women younger than themselves are expected to take on huge responsibilities domestically, and they are also often expected to be the main breadwinners, too. It is a world the pair do not recognise, and note that the move into adulthood is a quicker process than it is for them in London.

This is a film full of gentle interviews. They are guests and their questions reflect that – but it also allows the women they speak to to take control of their narrative, and avoids the easy leading questions used to back up their assumptions.

Others we meet include a Taekwondo champion who does not let men harass her, a teacher who runs a high-altitude school, medical staff and a zoo keeper who gave baby bears her own milk.

The pair are relatable and you feel privileged to join them.

And this is a finely shot movie – the expanses of space, the mountain pass roads with deadly drops into canyons below make it a beautiful watch.

This celebration of the shared experiences of womanhood works for the voices aired, for the ingenuity in embarking on the trip, and executing the film so well.

• Details of screenings of the film can be found at: www.dartmouthfilms.com/womenbehindthewheel