I Dream of Mummers

I Dream of Mummers tells the story of the kukeri, a Bulgarian ceremony in which masked dancers celebrate the transition of winter into spring.

Post-screening discussion moderated by Jane Sugarman.

Directed by Adela Peeva, I Dream of Mummers traces the history of this celebration from the 1940s to the present. Mummers perform all throughout Bulgaria, but in Sushitsa, the villagers have managed to preserve the authenticity of this ancient tradition, so that they can dance the same way their ancestors did centuries ago.

About the Speaker

Jane Sugarman is a professor at Hunter College’s CUNY Graduate Center. Her research focuses on music’s role in processes of identity formation, with particular attention to communities in and from Southeastern Europe and the Middle East. Her 1997 book Engendering Song: Singing and Subjectivity at Prespa Albanian Weddings was awarded the Chicago Folklore Prize; and in 2004 she received the Jaap Kunst Prize from the Society for Ethnomusicology for her article, “Those ‘Other Women’: Dance and Femininity among Prespa Albanians.” In addition to extensive research on the relationship of music and gender, she has written on issues of modernity and globalization, diaspora communities, nationalism, and the role of music in conflict situations and post-conflict societies.