BRIDE KIDNAPPING IN KYRGYZSTAN

A playful ritual or a cruel game? A girl is innocently waiting for the school bus. A moment later, a man bundles her into a passing car where his accomplices, the "grooms" are already sitting. "I don't want to be late for school", the girl shouts. "Your classes are over", the man answers. In the former Soviet Republic of Kyrgyzstan, bride kidnapping is a common way for men to get married when they are not rich enough to pay the typically very high dowries.

The abducted woman is dragged by the groom and several friends into a house where the mother-in-law-to-be is already waiting with a veil. She throws the veil over the girl's head, like you would catch a butterfly in a net. A delegation is then sent to the girl's family to inform them of the abduction. The family usually give their consent to the marriage. The only way out of it is if the girl manages to escape from the kidnapper's house. He will then set out to look for a new girl to abduct.

Although bride kidnapping has been officially forbidden in Kyrgyzstan since 1994, it has increased since the country's independence due to increasing poverty. When they cannot afford the price asked by a girl's family, many men choose kidnapping instead. Director Petr Lom is the first to ever document this custom. In his impressive debut film he follows the dramatic stories of four bride kidnappings.