To find a subject for her film, director Raisa Răzmeriță did not have to look far: in her own native village she already knew a woman, Elena, beneath whose cheerful and infectious energy lay a much deeper story. The film ELECTING MS SANTA will be screened at Competition Programme – Documentary Film.
Elena lives in a small village in Moldova as an ordinary, down-to-earth woman who spends her days doing the usual farm and household work. Every now and then, she becomes something of a fairy godmother, looking after lonely elderly people, children with special needs, and even helps to keep the village clean. At the end of each year, she puts on a Santa suit and, together with a group of volunteer helpers, buys and delivers presents, bringing joy to people throughout the village. As Moldova moves closer to the EU, an international organization launches a pre-accession program that trains rural women on how to run for office in the upcoming local elections. Elena, who’s always been active in her community and frustrated by the way things are being run, decides to run for mayor.
How did you first meet Elena, and what made you want to follow her journey of self-discovery and empowerment?
We’re from the same village, and I remember her from when I was a child, she was the first woman I ever saw driving a car! Back then, many men from our village worked in Moscow and kept in touch with their families by sending letters, since we didn’t have phones.
Once Elena brought us a letter from my father sent via her husband who had returned home from Moscow, and that’s how we became close. Later, she would visit us during the winter holidays, in her Santa Claus costume, bringing gifts for my younger sisters. Even then, I could tell Elena was someone who brought people together, a connector, a sort of cheerleader. Because of her disability, she was often bullied growing up, but she managed to become the beating heart of the village through her projects and the energy she radiates.
The first footage we shot was during one of her holiday endeavors. I remember telling my life and film partner Ion (who later became the producer and DoP of the film) about Elena’s efforts. She was collecting donations and bringing gifts every year to the volunteers involved in her projects, as well as to people with disabilities in our village and the neighboring ones. And Ion was immediately eager to meet her. That same winter, in 2017, we began filming and quickly sensed that there was a deeper story to uncover, beneath this very vibrant surface.
You often filmed with a handheld camera, which really gives the feeling that you were following Elena every step of the way. She’s someone who constantly challenges established norms, both within her family and in her community. It also feels like she genuinely enjoyed having you and the camera around. Was she open with you from the very beginning?
The handheld camera was my clear intention from the very beginning. I wanted to make the viewer part of that microcosm Elena is part of. At the very beginning my curiosity went towards the unlimited energy Elena chased through my village as Santa – literally a strong colorful island of hope on a very gray and muddy map.
Those campaigns truly reflect who Elena is – generous, optimistic, always spreading contagious joy, and ready to face any hardships. You can see the impact of her actions on the faces of the people she visits; they light up! And unfortunately, these people are often forgotten by local authorities or even their peers.
Also, Elena becomes Santa Claus partly because no man ever stepped up to do it, which says a lot about her dedication to the community. She’s the kind of person who shows up and takes initiative when others just stand on the sidelines.
Working on this film felt like love at first sight. You feel chemistry, even if you can’t quite put it into words. From the very beginning we saw Elena as charismatic and open. But most importantly, she trusted us, and we enjoyed extraordinary openness from her during the seven years of filming. Over the years we paid a lot of attention to this trust and until post-production stage one of my biggest concerns was not to betray this trust.
One thing that really sets Elena apart from the other candidates for the elections is her compassion. She’s so genuinely emotionally invested, and she puts an incredible amount of energy into meeting people and trying to convince them to support her. That’s something you rarely see in political campaigns. She may not know much about politics, but she certainly understands the needs of her community. Do you think the main reason she lost the election was that she’s a woman?
The answer could be yes, at least to some extent. I often imagine a simple thought experiment: if Elena had been a man, would people have questioned her competence so often? Or would she have been judged instead by her determination, courage, and leadership? Women are often expected to prove they are qualified before they are trusted, while men are more readily given the benefit of the doubt – that they can learn and grow into the role along the way.
At the same time, we also need to look at the context that brought Elena to this point. Her roles, so often taken on almost by default by many women, left her with very little time and very few opportunities to invest in her own education and personal development. I don’t believe Elena lost the election simply because she is a woman. Elections are always shaped by many different factors. But I do believe that being a woman profoundly influenced the way she was perceived, the standards by which she was judged, and even the path that led her to that moment.
What is Elena doing these days? Is he studying psychology? Will she run for a municipal mayor again?
These days Elena is living one of her biggest dreams – she just finished the first year of her bachelor’s degree in social work (Faculty of Social Sciences and Education). She was accepted to the university a few weeks before the world premiere of our film. It’s something that had always slipped through her fingers, for reasons beyond her control.
Until recently, outdated laws made it impossible for her to apply. But things have finally changed and last summer she sold her cow, her most stable source of income, to pay her university tuition. But at the same time, she continues her projects in the village. I heard many voices from around her telling her that she should leave the village for a community where she would be more appreciated. But I am happy that she stayed and denied all proposals… to me that worked as a clear sign that all her initiatives had no political motivation and that the politics did not break her motivation.
So, I think Elena’s story doesn’t end here. She continues to pursue her dreams with a kind of stubborn determination we can all learn from. And who knows, maybe we’ll see her running for office again one day, more prepared, and more confident.
