Two women. One epic journey. Countless stories that deserve to be heard. Cat and Hannah undertake a road trip across Central Asia on a mission to uncover women's stories in a region miles from their own. But along the journey, they're forced to challenge the assumptions they set out with.

Full Description of The Interview

Q1. How and why did you become a documentary maker?
A1. We made this film shortly after both of us had left university. Cat had an interest in women's rights and anthropology, and loved watching documentaries. Hannah had always wanted to make films and was working in fiction film-making at the time. It was a combination of those skills and interests that led us to the idea of making a film together. We were both keen to travel to Central Asia and deeply curious about the region. In researching the trip we began digging deeper into women's issues in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. We were especially interested in the tension between Soviet values and more Islamic or nationalist traditions in these countries - the impact on women hadn't received much attention from the media.

During our research, we also came across the Pamir Highway - the 2nd highest road on Earth, tracking through this region and linking up many of the women's stories we had discovered. So we decided (initially) to make a short film which would be a feminist road trip - using our car as a vehicle to access stories. We crowdfunded some money for the production costs and started contacting the women on social media.

We were overwhelmed by the response. Along the 3000km road, we met women from all walks of life got in touch with us, who opened up about everything from sexual empowerment to domestic abuse and bride kidnapping. We knew a short film wouldn't do justice to the diversity of women we spoke to, and so the film became a feature! Once we got back we spent months applying for post-production funding, and eventually were rewarded with grants from the Film and TV Charity and the Edinburgh Film Festival, plus investment from an up and coming US production company called iWoman TV.

It wasn't exactly planned, but that was our very hands-on route into documentary!

Q2. What makes a good documentary?
A2. We love any films made with heart, authenticity and empathy. The boom of streamer documentaries has introduced an expectation of big budget, glossy-looking documentaries. Brilliant as those films can be, we don't think money or high production value is the route to an amazing film. Compelling characters, a strong and trusting relationship with contributors, and conviction in a creative vision are key to an amazing doc. We spent lots of time worrying about whether our camera skills or technical kit were good enough, or if the style of the filmmaking was right for the subject matter (we were very conscious the film could pose valid questions about whether we had a right to tell these stories). But when we finally showed the film to audiences, the aspect people responded best to was the fact it felt genuine. We chose not to cover up the wobbly camera work, the times we made missteps when interviewing women, or the mis-judgements we later reconsidered - and we've found audiences relate to the film all the more because of that, not in spite of it.

Q3. Why did you make WOMEN BEHIND THE WHEEL and what were they key challenges you have faced making the film(s)?
A3. One of the toughest things was funding. We applied for grant after grant, and received rejection after rejection. The public funding bodies for independent film are few and far between, and we were totally unknown, inexperienced filmmakers. There were so many times when we thought we'd never be able to finish this film. Even after receiving the grants we won, we still had to pause the edit to raise more funding. It was only with the help of a final crowdfund that we managed to complete it. We could not be more grateful to the individuals and organizations that believed in this film as much as we did.

In terms of actually making the film, choosing which women to include in the film involved many a long back and forth between the two of us, arguing why we felt one women or another needed to feature. We interviewed over 50 women on our trip, and we couldn't do justice to all of them in a 90 minute film. We like to think that even the stories that didn't make it to the final cut informed our vision of the documentary as a whole.

The struggle we faced the way made sharing the film with audiences all the more sweet! Five years after having filmed it, we premiered Women Behind The Wheel at Edinburgh Film Festival to two sold out screenings. It went on to show at Human Rights film festivals around Europe, before a theatrical release in the UK. Again, we sold out almost every screening - from London to Oxford, Devon, Belfast and Glasgow. It shows how much of an audience there is out there for independent documentaries!

Q4. What's next for you? What projects are you currently working on?
A4. Cat works full time for L'Oreal in London and continues to dedicate time to the distribution and reach of Women Behind the Wheel. Hannah works as a documentary producer/director - she is currently producing a feature film for PBS Frontline, and is in development on an independent short documentary following a teenage Afghan footballer.

Short Bio:
Catherine Haigh
Cat and Hannah met at university nearly 10 years ago. Together, they've filmed, produced, and directed Women Behind the Wheel, along the way being jointly awarded the John Brabourne Award in Progress Pitch Award in 2019. Cat has a passion for anthropology and ethnographic research, specializing in women's health during her time at university where she conducted research with Syrian refugees to produce and award-winning thesis on migration and fertility. Cat currently works for the global beauty company L'Oreal. Outside work and film producing, she's avid traveller-from solo tours of India, to volunteering for earthquake recovery projects in Nepal.

Hannah Congdon
Hannah is a freelance filmmaker and TV producer whose work focuses on gender, politics and mental health. She began her career working for the Berlinale, before starting to make her own films. Her short films have screened at BAFTA-qualifying film festivals around the UK and been published by the Huffington Post. Her TV work includes producing films for PBS Frontline, Nat Geo, BBC and Channel 4. She was recently selected for the 2023 BIFA Springboard programme for first-time British filmmakers. Website: https://www.hannahcongdon.co.uk/