East of the West - Competition 2013 / More / Russia 2013
Weary of Moscow, a young photographer sets out for the Kola Peninsula in order to document the life of the local fishing communities whose inhabitants have lived in close proximity to the sea for centuries. The director portrays the wild beauty of this gradually disappearing world through a series of poetic images.
A young commercial photographer, weary of the hectic life of the Russian metropolis, decides to leave for a place he has always dreamt about – the North Sea coast. Amidst the magnificent but harsh landscape of the Kola Peninsula he meets a girl named Tasya. She becomes his guide to the slowly disappearing fishing settlements whose inhabitants have for hundreds of years lived in harmony with the sea, which provides their subsistence, sets the rhythm of their lives and gives them order. Director Alexandra Strelyanaya uses her ample documentary experience to skilfully combine dramatic passages with actual interviews with the local inhabitants. Instead of offering a strong storyline, the director successfully captures the nostalgic atmosphere of a vanishing world, sharing its wild beauty with the audience through poetic images. Her sensitive work with non-actors (i.e. all but one of the cast members) strengthens the convincing image of the place and its people, whose often difficult fortunes are closely connected to the sea.
82 min / Color, DCP
International premiere
Director Alexandra Strelyanaya
/ Screenplay Alexandra Strelyanaya
/ Dir. of Photography Alexandra Strelyanaya
/ Music Alexander Laneev
/ Producer Alexey Uchitel
/ Production Rock Films
/ Cast Ilya Rigin, Taisia Krammi, Elena Kalinina
/ Contact Rock Films, Reflexion Films
Alexandra Strelyanaya (b. 1978, Leningrad) completed her studies in cinematography at the St. Petersburg State University of Film and Television in 2005, receiving a degree in direction there two years later. As a director, screenwriter and cinematographer she has made several short dramas and documentaries, of which the short doc Sarafan (2007) was screened and received awards at a number of festivals and showcases. Her feature film work debuted with an adaptation of a short story by Ivan Bunin, The Dry Valley (Sukhodol (2011). Following the documentary Pomory (2012) she returned to features with The Sea.
Rock Films
12 Krukov kanal, 190068, St. Petersburg
Russia
Phone: +7 495 951 7654; +7 812 714 2056
Fax: +7 495 951 7654; +7 812 714 2056
E-mail: [email protected]
Reflexion Films
Mosfilmovskaya street, 1, office 555, , Moscow
Russia
Phone: +74 996 081 433
E-mail: [email protected]
Alexandra Strelyanaya
Film Director, Film Director
Alexander Laneev
Film Crew
Olga Aylarova
Producer
Lena Bystrova
Producer
Aleksey Sokhnev
Actor
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