Journal Article

Johanna d'Arc of Mongolia: Interview with Ulrike Ottinger

Kaplan, Janet A., Ottinger, Ulrike

2002

Overview

In interview, the artist Ulrike Ottinger discusses her film Johanna d'Arc of Mongolia (1988; illus.). Following a summary of the plot, which involves a group of European women kidnapped by Mongolian tribeswomen while travelling on the Trans-Siberian railroad, Ottinger further defines the main characters and sections of the film, sheds light on her sources of inspiration, and outlines her stance on feminism and other theories with which her work has been associated. She also recounts her experiences of Mongolia and Mongolian nomadic people, recalling the challenges of shooting there, and of collaborating with a multilingual crew and with the Chinese authorities, and explains that she has since returned several times to make the 8-hour documentary Taiga (1992) and another film chronicling her own journey from Berlin through Odessa to Istanbul, entitled South-East Passage (2000; illus.), both of which will appear at Documenta XI in Kassel, Germany (2002).

• Publisher: College Art Association, Inc
• Subject: Motion picture criticism / Motion picture directors & producers / Motion pictures / Ottinger, Ulrike (1942- )