What does the Manifesto of the New Feminine mean?
Or a movie about the right to be yourself.
The movie was 2.5 hours long and I had it set aside for the holidays and then for the weekend. And then one night, I pressed Play and disappeared all night. Because this is a movie about each of us. About the pressure we're under. About the requirement to move somewhere from something, serve someone, train, work on yourself, meditate... Million demands. It doesn't matter which side you're on. And that, of course, is frustrating and pressing. It gradually changes behavior and attitudes. After all, we are all social beings who need approval and acceptance.
The New Feminine Manifesto is a very important film. Because it gives everyone acceptance. It doesn’t matter if she chooses to be a housewife or a businesswoman, an artist or an athlete. Or just being happy walking the streets. It consists of 16 interviews of incredibly different women who share two things. All their lives they do exactly what their heart tells them. They handle society’s assessments and do what they want. And we like that. Just look at their names:
- Ksenia Sobchak
- Ekaterina Strizhenova
- Daria Ekamasova
- Alla Sigalova
- Sofia Trotsenko
- Eugene Gladkin
- Victoria Portfolio
And 9 more heroines.
I've been in therapy five years. But then I finally felt that I was not alone.
It’s hard to spend two and a half hours just watching a movie. Initially, I turned it on in the background while doing business, but then the monologues caught my attention. This film made a selection of beautiful and successful women who, at first glance, have a perfect life and can not have problems. But the director seamlessly leads us to what lies behind these flawlessly designed facades. To the accompaniment of gentle music, creating an atmosphere of brooding splint, these strong women share their difficult stories of climbing Olympus. Each story is bright and unique, and I was moved by the care with which the authors emphasize the peculiarities of the unique character of each of the heroines.
They share stories of their failures, failures, misunderstandings and obstacles that they were given by relatives and loved ones. And with them you experience these emotions, which, as you can clearly see here, were recorded pure and sincere. The openness with which the heroines share the details of their destinies, their thoughts, insights, bribes and forces them to follow each story enthusiastically until the very end of the film. The basic idea here is that being strong and successful is not the absence of failure in life or the immunity to grief. And the ability to get up after a fall, to gather, to take into account mistakes and find a way out of there.
This is not a story about the easy way, this is not a paid coach motivator, this is not an Instagram success story.
This manifesto is a monologue woven from the fate of women. There is no such thing as modern reality. No one is trying to impose on you that to succeed you need to hold a leadership position or aspire to become a businesswoman. Among the heroines there are artists, doctors, and mothers.
Every woman has gone her own way, and now she shares this story, talks about her fears, about the pressure she felt from others, about the sacrifices she had to make. The film allows us to take a piece of that life experience, and therefore make adjustments to our fate.
“What would I do in her place?” – this is the question experienced by the viewer.
In the end, I will add that the film not only carries a relevant message, but also put well: a beautiful picture, high-quality editing, a suitable location. I definitely recommend watching, but only if there is a mood for self-digging.
Warm film and under the blanket This is about the “Manifesto of a new femininity” by Ksenia Zueva.
The film warms from the inside like a good session with a therapist. You see how famous women who have achieved a lot in life reveal what is behind a beautiful picture, what they had to face, what they sacrificed and how they managed to go through everything and live on. And it gets easier on the soul. As if I shared the burden of problems that each of us has with someone strong, as if I personally talked with the racer Ekaterina Ekamasova or blogger Vika Portfolio. With the choreographer Alla Sigalova or actress Ekaterina Strizhenova. They shared something so deeply personal and intimate that it was as if they were friends with us who were watching through the screen. The first documentary in the format of an interview that does not cause the desire to go and take antidepressants. And vice versa. I want to see this movie for every woman who is sad or needs support.
I watched this movie in 2 p.m. She savored, analyzed the dialogues of the heroines, and scrolled some questions in her head, trying to find her personal answer to it. What can I say about love, freedom, God? The film is deep, sensual, I would describe it to some extent as motivational.
I really liked the story of Ekaterina Naboichenko - drifter and pilot, who once became interested in the "non-female" sport. A beautiful, young woman perfectly combines the mind, the role of a mother and a passionate passion for speed. Who says that's impossible? Do you have to choose one thing: family, career, sports? Modern women can do everything at once.
Even resonate moments from communication with the choreographer Anna Sigalova. I love her work, several times I was lucky to see performances in Moscow, where she was responsible for the dance part. Plastic, a message to the audience at the productions of actors is always at a high level. And it was after watching the Manifesto of the New Feminine that her biography as a person became also interesting. Ups, downs, sickness, finding yourself... and eventually the quiet energy of self-confidence.
The basic principles of happiness and the “laws” of femininity that the heroines of the plot carry through the entire film are awareness, self-confidence, following a dream and not being afraid to be different, to be yourself.
Different women, different stories, but they all share love. First of all, love for life and your own way.
If you choose a path, choose it every day.
You are a woman, you are a book between books, Valery Bryusov wrote in 1899. In December 2022, director Ksenia Zueva set out to show how different these books can be and prove that this is normal. It's okay to be yourself. It is normal to do what you like. It is normal not to blindly follow the norms of society and the environment. It doesn't matter what they say. She directed The New Feminine Manifesto, a film that consists of the personal stories of 16 different heroines to explore how different a woman can be. The selection of heroines is very unusual. All of them are somehow known in their field. There are those who the whole country knows without understatement. For example, Ksenia Sobchak. And there are those who are being followed on TikTok, like blogger Victoria Portfolio. Or on the race track – as the pilot of the Russian Drift Series Ekaterina Naboichenko. They all talk about themselves and at the same time about the things that define the life of every woman. For example, relationships with parents and children. Or a career. About choosing your path. Some state... gutted...and at the same time happy. Because we exchanged energy with the audience. I am on adrenaline and will not be able to sleep for a long time, said one of the heroines of the film, Alla Sigalova. This is a very accurate description of the feeling you feel when you watch the Manifesto. You've exchanged energy with his powerful, beautiful heroines, and that's what keeps you going. You know you can be anyone. And that's okay.
The film Revelation, the monologue "Manifesto of the New Feminine" by Ksenia Zueva is a film that is called a documentary. But in fact, it needs some other definition. It's a kind of heroine confession. Extremely sincere monologues of Alla Strizhenova, Sofia Trotsenko, Evgenia Gladkina, Sophia Sobchak and other heroines of our time, who have not descended from the sky for more than 10 years. Those who clearly did not accidentally attract and hold our attention. What do they think about the issues that concern ordinary women? What did they have to give up for their career and did they have to? What did we not know, fascinated in public? The Manifesto tells about all this. Surprisingly, the film, full of monologues about the deep movements of the soul does not leave a feeling of sadness. On the contrary, it seems to charge the viewer. It is as if you can understand how to live even in the most difficult conditions. Live your life, not the expectations of others.
A few words about the “Manifesto of the new femininity” from an avid lover of documentaries and the genre of “interview”. Usually, a good interview is an interview with one character, where he talks about himself or the fate of the fatherland. And this is the first thing that surprises the New Feminine Manifesto. This documentary featured 16 characters. 16!! Each of them is interesting in its own way. Everyone knows someone (I mean Ksenia Sobchak). Someone only connoisseurs, for example, if you love arthouse cinema, the name of Daria Ekamasova will tell you a lot. Someone became a real discovery, like the Russian Drift Series racer from Yekaterinburg – Ekaterina Naboichenko or the Japanese jeweler Ksenia China, who “always holds the sword behind her back.” What could you expect from their interview? Success stories? The director, Ksenia Zueva, did the opposite. Turned the film into a story of humanity. Tiny failures and epic failures, hat, misunderstanding and... support. Heroines talking about themselves do it so sincerely that as if living all these events again – together with the viewer. They share their power with him. Something that allows them to be who they are. Create museums of contemporary art and stage performances at the Moscow Art Museum, build wine farms or burn all bridges and ruin a successful career to become an artist. The director was clearly inspired by the film “Human” by Jan Arthus-Bertrand. She was able to build a very deep, sincere dialogue with each of the heroines. All this is accompanied by beautiful music and fascinating views of nature, which, in fact, becomes another heroine of the film. The result was a film of confession for 2.5 hours. Overcoming such timekeeping is not easy. The director clearly understood this, so the Manifesto is divided into 2 parts, and those into blocks devoted to the main topics - from hat to motherhood. The film is very convenient to watch online. You can stop and review any block, go back to the story that elicits the most response. I really didn’t get that format. I was looking at one breath.
There were no special expectations from the film, since the theme seemed to me already beaten, and this turned out to be a movie that sneaks to tears.
As a rule, we are in some of our main pain points the same.
These points are associated with childhood, with parents, with love, with fears, with complexes, with self-doubt.
Well, this is probably the main thing, – says at the very beginning one of the heroines – the famous choreographer Alla Sigalova. And then, the whole film, we get acquainted with the inner world of the heroines. Strong, bright, successful. Through human tragedies, familiar to each of us.
The director managed to make them share their deepest feelings. It was like going through it on screen for us. To share the power that helped them survive and build their lives on no matter what.
The best movie to watch at the holidays and recharge for the whole New Year.
A sincere film about finding your own self and not being alone!
I have long followed the work of Ksenia Zueva, and this film did not fail. The film is made with a wonderful message that every woman is capable of much, despite any obstacles in life. We're all different, but we all go forward. Each of us has our own pace, our own interests, our own goals.
The film looks on one breath, a mood of Buddhist calmness and a focus on acceptance. Here, experienced women tell you how they emerged from the precipices into which life has driven them. They talk about it with a smile and have no regrets. This experience has helped them become who they are.
This movie is probably more for women. It motivates, questions some attitudes that you are so used to that you simply do not notice them. The film discussed a topical topic for me, the importance of the opinions of others, even strangers, and how it prevents you from living your own life the way you want. No one is going to get the time back.
The film is suitable for gatherings with a cup of hot tea under a blanket. He gently throws up ideas for thought and leaves you alone with them, showing that your unique thoughts are important too. And we're all different. But we're here together. And together we go forward.
The film was long lying “in bookmarks”, and in vain. Here you can listen with interest to how women, despite everything, have achieved their goals, share with us simple truths, which they reached on their own, step by step overcoming various obstacles on their thorny path. It's like the advice of older friends. You get together somewhere in the kitchen and share your troubles and experiences with each other. The film discusses various topics: motivation and struggle, hating, stereotypes, motherhood, faith in God, what freedom is, what love is for them, and many others.
The film is beautifully designed, beautiful shots deliver aesthetic pleasure, and soft keyboards successfully highlight particularly lyrical moments in the narratives of the heroines. Their monologues echo each other, and yet each looks at the world through a unique prism of their life experience.
The whole picture in general perfectly fulfilled my request for goodness and hope. After watching, there is such warmth in the shower. Some thoughts you even write out to yourself to preserve and use as personal motivation. In fact, what they say responds to every woman. Everyone will find a piece of themselves here. And then the power to change something.
You open the film like a passing movie with an interview about successful success and all - disappear for 2.5 hours.
16 heroines - women with amazing strength of character, who have achieved considerable heights, with some very touching frankness talk about things that happened in their lives. About heath, betrayal, injuries, own mistakes.
Such stories are familiar to all of us. We usually discuss them with our best friend over a glass, or with a therapist. And here – without embellishment we see on the screen that real, human problems can be even Ksusha Sobchak.
I got a lot of emotions from how the powerful share revelations about their failures, how they got out of difficult situations and experienced losses, how they safely betray their thoughts and feelings.
But that's not the point. The main thing is that the film is organized in a way that gives hope, shows how to be when it is difficult, how to survive it all. How to recover or, conversely, not afraid to throw everything to hell and build a new life.
I definitely recommend this movie to watch.
Don't judge a book by its cover. It’s hard to spend two and a half hours just watching a movie. Initially, I turned it on in the background while doing business, but then the monologues caught my attention. This film made a selection of beautiful and successful women who, at first glance, have a perfect life and can not have problems. But the director seamlessly leads us to what lies behind these flawlessly designed facades. To the accompaniment of gentle music, creating an atmosphere of brooding splint, these strong women share their difficult stories of climbing Olympus.
Each story is bright and unique, and I was moved by the care with which the authors emphasize the unique character of each of the characters. They share stories of their failures, failures, misunderstandings and obstacles that they were given by relatives and loved ones. And with them you experience these emotions, which, as you can clearly see here, were recorded pure and sincere. The openness with which the heroines share the details of their destinies, their thoughts, insights, bribes and forces them to follow each story enthusiastically until the very end of the film. The basic idea here is that being strong and successful is not the absence of failure in life or the immunity to grief. And the ability to get up after a fall, to gather, to take into account mistakes and find a way out of there.
What would you expect from a movie called The New Feminine Manifesto? Loud slogans? Makeup guide or shoe selection guide? I didn't know, so when a friend put it up at our meeting (instead of some nice show), I admittedly just freaked out. Why spoil the evening?
I was very, very wrong.
The Manifesto was about the fact that every woman’s life has difficulties and that it is normal. It is about how to find strength and overcome daily crumbling failures, how to restore yourself to pieces after a great tragedy, how to survive love and passion and not ruin the life of yourself and your loved ones.
It became clear to me why the director chose the successful and famous for the film. Strong personalities who were able to share their experience and their resource directly through the screen.
I have not experienced such a feeling of lightness in a long time, although for many years in therapy.
I’ve bookmarked the film and will definitely watch it again.
I was looking for something to look at and I found it!
“In any profession, you can achieve something if you constantly go to overcome,” says Alla Sigalova, one of the heroines, and this is instantly imprinted in your head.
That's how life works on earth. Overcoming difficulties, you become stronger. Going against the opinion of others, the pressure of society, relatives and friends, your own cowardice - you achieve your goal. And then you put a new one. And more. And more.
Every interview is a story about the thorny road to the top. The heroines openly and sincerely share what supported them, and their pain, failures. I watched the movie and shared those stories with them. Indeed, they are talking about the most common difficulties. We all know how hard it can be when your parents or just the closest person do not believe in you and do not support you. And sometimes they do everything to lead you off the path that they thought was wrong. When health fails. When it just doesn’t add up and it seems like everything is against you. Here we share simple thoughts that everyone seems to know, but few people think about them.
Later, in an interview, Alla shares with us a monstrous, tragic story, as she lay paralyzed for several months, shares her experiences. And then, with a smile, he says, "But no! This has made me an absolutely happy person. Because the value of every second to me is now absolute. If that's not inspiring, what is?
I didn’t think I would wait 2.5 hours, but I was wrong. It was like talking to each of the characters about something very personal. For example, the story of Snezhanny Georgieva about the divorce of her parents, when she was not yet 5 years old – to tears. It is good that all the heroines are united by a strong inner core. The director wonderfully showed how they live through difficulties, but do not fear and do not break, and every day go on. Here, in the atmosphere of trusting, friendly conversation, a kaleidoscope of bright destinies full of various events, both happy and tragic, is presented. We are told about life lessons, thanks to which the heroines managed to become who they are now.
I was very hooked by the thought of Elena Sotnikova that you should not perceive a successful woman as a guide to action for yourself. I liked that the authors very competently made this idea sound almost at the very beginning, immediately after meeting all the heroines. After all, this film presents a sample of flagships, that is, those who are faster, higher, stronger. They certainly inspire with their achievements and strength of character, give hope that it is possible to find your vocation in life, it is possible to find a job through which you can not only receive some material benefits for yourself, but also do good for those around you. Yet we realize that their paths are not universal, and we all need to find our own path to happiness. Every woman is unique. But we all share a simple desire to be happy.