00:00Hi, welcome back to my channel.
00:02In this video, I will explain the true story of Hotel Kolkata, so, let's begin.
00:07Director Pete Gleason provides a bare revelation about the Australian outback in his 2016 documentary
00:12film Hotel Kolkata.
00:14The movie is based in a small remote mining town of Kolkata in Perth at the Denver City
00:18Hotel.
00:19It follows the story of two Finnish backpackers who are robbed during their trip to Bali and
00:23decide to work at the Aussie pub for three months to earn back their savings.
00:28Nina and Steph are initially excited to work in a remote town as a part of their work holiday
00:32but receive a cultural shock when they start working.
00:35The film then deals with their emotions and follows their journey, all the while documenting
00:38their bizarre experiences.
00:41While it is a documentary, the story seems to oscillate between fiction and reality.
00:46With instances that are hard to believe, the authenticity of the narrative is questioned.
00:51It's time to address these doubts and find out how true this story is.
00:55Everything that is documented in the film depicts the raw reality of that setting.
00:59Hotel Kolkata is not scripted as many people have claimed.
01:03Gleason's association with the pub had started over a decade before he filmed the documentary,
01:07and he initially decided that he wanted to make a film about the culture in the remote
01:10area, especially when he noticed a lot of foreign women coming for a few months at the
01:13pub to work as barmaids.
01:16He reveals that he had not expected the documentary to take the turn it did with Nina and Steph,
01:20and his idea was just to capture the next foreigners who came to the pub.
01:24Since Gleason is an observational filmmaker, there was no script prepared, and he decided
01:28to capture footage of whatever he noticed and the experiences of the women who came
01:31through a job agency.
01:33Gleason admits he did not have to get permission from the people at the bar to film them, but
01:37he made his intention very clear, and it came as a surprise to him that the behavior they
01:41projected seemed very normal to them.
01:43This film was originally shot in 2012, and when the women saw it years later, it still
01:48made them emotional with regret about the time they spent there.
01:51Gleason admits that the film took the drastic turn it did when Nina and Steph realized that
01:55they were facing a very unpleasant situation, especially with the locals trying to make
01:59advances at them and turning up at their home right above the bar drunk, which made them
02:02feel the need to draw a line.
02:05Nina also admitted that if they were not in need of money, they would have left the pub
02:08after the first day.
02:10But they decided to stick around and try to be friendly with the locals.
02:14Another thing that Gleason observed after filming the documentary was how hard it is
02:17for women to tolerate casual sexism just because they are in a new town where they don't know
02:20anyone and are trying to be on good terms with the locals to not create a scene and
02:24cause trouble.
02:26His experience watching foreigners before them who came to the bar was very different
02:29since some of them seemed to adjust to the lifestyle that was projected there, which
02:32seemed very odd and unacceptable to Nina and Steph.
02:36Nina and Steph's experience at the pub has been terrifying, with Nina insisting that
02:40if she could go back in time and change it, she would.
02:43It has troubled her so much that she has sworn off camping completely.
02:47While the documentary is supposed to be a subtle observation about their experience,
02:51it turned out to be completely different for Gleason.
02:54Nina and Steph were clearly appalled at the kind of harassment, sexism, and discomfort
02:58they were subjected to, especially due to the language and cultural barriers.
03:02The locals captured in the documentary, on the other hand, seemed more offended that
03:06they didn't adjust to their way of life like the women who came before they did.
03:10Nina and Steph, who were last heard from back in Finland, insisted they did not want to
03:13reveal details about their life since it was a scarring experience for them.
03:17With over 80 hours of raw footage to sort from, this compilation shows the true picture
03:21of how hard it is for women who encounter people for whom sexism seems to come naturally.
03:26That's all for now folks, I would appreciate it if you could give the video a super thanks
03:29with a thumbs up and subscribe to the channel so you can see more content like this every
03:33day, take care, bye!
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