The “New Russian Cinema” section consists of 15 films from the last decade, of which more than half will be Polish premieres.
Polish premieres of new Russian cinema? What’s the point of such as section at New Horizons, since films from Russia are shown regularly at Polish festivals including at a traveling festival devoted solely to these films? We all know new Russian cinema: Karen Shakhnazarov, Aleksei Balabanov, Aleksey Uchitel, Pavel Lungin, Andrey Zvyagintsev – anyone can list these and other names, but you won’t find them in the New Horizons program developed by Evegny Gusiatinsky (Rotterdam), Borys Nielepo (Locarno) and Elena Tworkowska (Sputnik Russian Film Festival). New Horizons will show underground and radical films at the border of independent music, artistic collectives, video art and performance, films, made outside the state system and that sternly criticize current systems as well as history.
The review will focus on multimedia groups, for which Russia was never lacking. The 1980s gave rise to NOM (officially the Informal Youth Association, alternatively the Short Repulsive Men) who, over the last decade, made one-of-a-kind musicals with elements of horror (Pasieka) and science fiction (Zviedniy Vors). Of equal stature and achievement is necrorealist artist, Yevgeny Yufit, who explores secret USSR archives in discerning form (Bipedalism). The 1990s saw the emergence of the Alibaster group, specializing in the most low budget gore/sf productions (Kalabacha, Yatinsotests), and Provmyza probing the substance of video art (Eternity). The 2000s saw the emergence of Svoi2000, including Sergey Loban working with Pyotr Mamonov, a musician and actor who is a legend of the Soviet underground, (Dust, Mamon-Loban, Shapitou-shou). The latest films in the repertoire - never-before-seen in Poland –include Rita’s Last Fairy Tale, an oneiric story by cult actress Renata Litvinova with music by Zemfira, and an experimental online documentary project Rearlity coordinated by Pawel Kostomatov, Alexander Rastorguyev and Alexey Pivarov.
Jan Topolski, section curator
The program includes:
Pasieka (2002) dir. NOM group (Informal Youth Association)
Dust (2005) dir. Sergey Loban