SynopsisThe Woman Who Brushed off Her Tears tells a story about the various types of imprisonment we create for ourselves or are forced into. Helena’s path is precisely traced; a path she is unable to change. Ajsun wants to live. Both aspire to be free. This is a story of two destinies coming into one, of two women coming into one, and of two worlds becoming one.

Program Note
The Woman Who Brushed Off Her Tears by Teona STRUGAR MITEVSKA, a Macedonian woman director, showcases the birth of a new woman director. The film illustrates the life of a middle-class woman living in a French metropolis and the life of a tribeswoman living in the outskirts of Macedonia. Through this parallel form, the film keenly examines the lives of women living in disparate conditions. Helena’s life in Paris, France, begins to be tinged with revenge ever since she watchs her son commit suicide after confessing that he was abused by his father. Meanwhile, Ajsun, who lives in the mountainous region of Macedonia, endures severe patriarchal traditions in life.
The life of a woman living in a first world country, with the fading desires and empty relationships resulting from the comfort of an affluent life, and the life of a tribeswoman living in a fourth world, withstanding a ceaseless pileup duties and sacrifices, similarly appear as the point of oppression despite cultural, ideological, and environmental differences. The most charming aspect of this film lies in the latter part of the film, when it more or less turns into a cult film. At the point where the lives of these two women intersect, the film quickly gets rid of the two patriarchs and presents the audience with a moment of allegoric turnover. It is a moment that most effectively represents the politics of cinematic fantasy. [HONG So-in]