Killing girls
St. Petersburg, Russia. An abortion clinic that specializes in late term teenage abortions. Young girls arrive at the clinic through the back door, sometimes with their mother or a friend. But all of them have to go through it alone. Here abortions are performed even after 7 months of pregnancy. The procedure is standard. When the girls arrive on in the weekend, they are put in one big ward. At the same time eight girls will get their drinks in order to enhance the contractions. When contractions on Monday start the doctors and nurses will help the girls to deliver. Most girls do not want to see their babies. They stay for the night and in the early morning they leave the clinic again to get back to their lives.
‘Killing Girls is a story about moral and economical choices in today’s Russian society. It is the story of three girls that at one point in their life decided to end a pregnancy at a late term. It is the story of the doctor who performs these late term abortions. Who are these people? What is their story?
In the film we follow these characters closely for three years. Through them we learn about the living conditions for the younger generation in Russia, those that dream of a glamorous western lifestyle, but are condemned to live hunting for money to buy a moment of happiness. Nobody has time to have children any longer. Fighting to find an income in a society with badly paid work, children have become a problem.
Valentina (15)
15-year-old Valentina didn’t know she was pregnant, until her mother noticed. Then, because of lack of money, they decided to have a late term abortion when Valentina was 26 weeks pregnant.
In the last minute Valentina changes her mind, and decides to have her baby.
Valentina has huge problems with her new role as a mother and leaves most of the caring to her own mother. After a few months Valentina gets pregnant again and decides this time to have an abortion.
In order to take care of the baby, they move to a smaller apartment, as there is not enough money. Although every day life is a struggle, Valentina and her mother try to make the most of it. For her first birthday there is cake and a nice stroll in the park.
Dr. Irina Serdechnaja
Dr. Irina Serdechnaja is working in the largest hospital for woman in St. Petersburg. Her job is to make abortions. For the last 25 years she made more than 10 000 abortions, many of them late term. Her job is to help women in an extremely difficult situation. However she is trying to convince the woman that it is better to have the baby, but it almost never makes them change their mind.
In Russia doctors have a modest salary. She is working over time to get more money for her family. She has an 18 year old son and her old mother to take care of. Coming home she feels tired and stressed. She does not smoke or drink, so her way to relax is to write in her diary.
12th November, Tuesday…
‘Just came home after working all night…Terribly tired…No energy for anything… We had a really hard night… 12 abortions. All of them from 22 weeks of pregnancy and higher. All of the women are just young girls from 14 years of age..
One of them, her name is Nastja, told me she was raped and then got pregnant. I do not know if it is truth, but she sounded honest. . I think I have to speak with her tomorrow…
Well, now it is time to go to bed and sleep. Just tired’
Nastja (17)
Nastja was raped and too afraid to tell her parents what happened to her. When she finds out that she is pregnant, she decides to hide it from everyone. Her father is an alcoholic. All her life Anastasia has dreamed of a better life. She wants to become the chef in a good restaurant, but the idea of having a baby ruins her dreams and her future. Only after 22 weeks Nastja decides to have an abortion.
She is one of the few girls who did look at her baby, a girl, 23 centimeters and 500 grams. Nastja is certain that she has made the right choice. At this moment Nastja is back in school, trying to focus on her education. She still hasn’t told her parents of what happened.
Sasha (16)
Just as many other girls of her age, Sasha became sexually active at a very young age. Since eleven, she already had twenty encounters, but this is her first abortion.
Sasha dropped out of school and doesn’t have a job. Her boyfriend insisted on her having an abortion. When she talks about her life, she acts like it is not a big deal. It is life the way she knows it.
The documentary ‘Killing Girls’ starts following the main characters when they enter the clinic and stays with them when they leave. But it is not just a documentary about girls who had to make a tough decision, or about procedures, it is a documentary on Russian society. A part of this society that is entered through a back door and now has the chance to be seen for the first time in history.
At this moment there is 40 hours of material. In 2006 the director and researcher will go back to shoot the last interviews and background material.
Background
For the last 15 years the population in Russia has decreased at a catastrophical speed. The mortality rate is 200% larger than the birth rate. Some professionals say that if this continues, Russia will cease to exist as a nation within 50 years.
There are lots of reasons for this. Crime, alcoholism and illness, but most important; Russian women have almost stopped producing children. For instance in Norway there was less than 14.000 abortions in 2004. In St Petersburg, having the same population as Norway, there were 50.000 abortions according to official records. Researchers claim that the actual number is twice as high.
Some years back not many young women would think of having an abortion in late term pregnancy (more than 12 weeks). Now it is common to have late term abortions, - until more than 30 weeks of pregnancy.
In today’s Russia around 80% of the women have between 2 and 10 abortions in their life, some have as many as 40. Abortions are legal in Russia and they are for free, unlike contraception such as the pill or condoms.
To have a baby in Russia today is for many people synonymous to forget about career and dreams. A single mother will receive 10$ per month from the state. The official poverty level is 150$ per month. So what are the choices for a poor, young girl who gets pregnant?
In the Russian society only the most cynical survive.
Team
Director
David Kinsella is originally a stills-photographer from Belfast. He has been living in Norway for 15 years. He is highly merited and has won the most significant prices for his work worldwide. He is Documentary Press Photographer of the Year several times since he won the price the first time at the age of 16 in 1981, and has won both The Great Picture Contest in the USA and the Fuji Press Photographer prize, (several times).
Researcher/ Narrator
Anna Sirota is an editor in St Petersburg for Russia’s largest newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, the world’s largest newspaper. Her women’s stories from Russia are published around the world.
Anna Sirota and David Kinsella have unique access to people and institutions in Russia through Anna's extensive network.
Producer
David Kinsella of Kinsella Film
Read more and view the full pilot here
|
