Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
‘God has created both male and female, and both should be free.’
Part of a Balkan tradition that dates back centuries, burrnesha are women who take a vow of chastity. In doing so, they’re given the freedom to take on social roles, such as serving as head of a household and working in physical jobs outside of the home, and appearances, such as wearing pants and short hair, that are associated with masculinity in Balkan culture. However, as the short documentary Burrnesha explores, as Balkan countries such as Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro have modernised and women have gained more autonomy over the past several decades, the tradition has become nearly extinct, with only an estimated 12 burrnesha left in the world. Profiling three of these women living Albania, the Germany-based director Lukas Tielke’s film examines the combination of societal and personal forces that led them to their decision, as well as how the burrnesha tradition is ultimately a conservative one, based in traditional views of sex and gender.
Director: Lukas Tielke
Producers: Blerta Kelmendi, Sami Hilal
video
Human rights and justice
Surreal, dazzling visuals form an Iranian expat’s tribute to defiance back home
10 minutes
video
Language and linguistics
Do button-pushing dogs have something new to say about language?
9 minutes
video
Art
When East met West in the images of an overlooked, original photographer
9 minutes
video
Values and beliefs
Why a single tree, uprooted in a typhoon, means so much to one man in Hanoi
7 minutes
video
Consciousness and altered states
‘I want me back’ – after a head injury, Nick struggles with his altered reality
7 minutes
video
Making
On the Norwegian coast, a tree is transformed into a boat the old-fashioned way
6 minutes
video
Animals and humans
One man’s quest to save an orphaned squirrel, as narrated by David Attenborough
14 minutes
video
Computing and artificial intelligence
A future in which ‘artificial scientists’ make discoveries may not be far away
9 minutes
video
History
Hags, seductresses, feminist icons – how gender dynamics manifest in witches
13 minutes