Forest People

Naître Svetlana Staline

March 2023 •English

In 1967, in the middle of the Cold War, Joseph Stalin's only daughter goes to the American embassy in New Delhi and asks for asylum. Svetlana leaves behind her country and her two children. Hunted by the press, the KGB, and many admirers, the woman, nicknamed the Kremlin princess, will never cease to flee. From the summit of the Soviet empire to the solitude and poverty of her last years in a Wisconsin home, Gabriel Tejedor traces the destiny of a resolutely free woman, at the very heart of the century and its geopolitical challenges.

Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes

February 2022 •English

Thirty-six years after the Chernobyl nuclear reactor exploded in Soviet Ukraine, newly uncovered archival footage and recorded interviews with those who were present paint an emotional and gripping portrait of the extent and gravity of the disaster and the lengths to which the Soviet government went to cover up the incident, including the soldiers sent in to “liquidate” the damage. Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes is the full, unvarnished true story of what happened in one of the least understood tragedies of the twentieth century.

The Last Days of the USSR

December 2011 •French

From 1989 to 1991 a string of unpredictable events happened that brought to light the rivalry between two men: Gorbachev, hindered by the economic results of his perestroika, and Yeltsin, embodying the hopes of the Russian people. Illustrated with interviews of top protagonists such as Mikhail Gobachev himself, the documentary recounts the critical last two years of the former USSR.

The Age of Kommunalki

November 2013 •Russian

A unique documentary about an inheritance of communism. An hidden world: the world of Kommunalki. In Saint Petersburg a lot of different people of different ages, culture and background live together in rooms inside big flats where they share common areas as the kitchen and the bathroom. This happens for 100 years... Since the October Revolution.

Cannibal Island

June 2009 •French

A disturbing chapter in Russian history is explored in this documentary. In 1933, Joseph Stalin sent 6000 "unwanted" citizens of Moscow and Leningrad to a desolate Siberian island - with no food or clothes to speak of. Decades later this documentary returns to the island.

Animated Soviet Propaganda

June 1997 •Russian

A landmark four disc Box Set - Unearthed from Moscow's legendary Soyuzmultfilm Studios, the 41 films in ANIMATED SOVIET PROPAGANDA span sixty years of Soviet history (1924 - 1984), and have never been available before in the U.S.

Journey to Everyday Life: About the City of Surgut and Its Residents

August 1965 •Russian

oil workers, builders, geologists

Chernobyl: The Last Battle of the USSR

April 2021 •French

Three decades after the nuclear explosion, almost everything has been said about this ecological and sanitary disaster that made Pripiat a part of History. How did the greatest industrial disaster change the course of History, disrupt global geopolitics and, directly or indirectly, redistribute the balances and power relations of the twentieth century? The world will never be the same again. By retracing the incredible battle waged by the Soviet Union against radiation, this film proposes to retrace and enlighten an extraordinary story, while exploring the historical stakes in the medium and long-term…

Karelo-Finnish SSR

January 1951 •Russian

A documentary film about the Karelo-Finnish SSR.

Russian Roulette: Subway games

July 2006 •Polish

Russian Roulette takes you on a journey across Russia and Ukraine, exploring post-soviet underground- systems of Kiev, Kharkov, Minsk, Moscow, Nizhny, Novgorod, and St. Petersburg. The reason why there isn't a cast or a crew list and all the artists' faces are blurred is that this film portrays people breaking the law.

Karl Marx und seine Erben

April 2018 •German

Lady Tundra

January 1986 •Russian

A critical look at the human-nature relationship in the tundra.

Test of a clean hydrogen bomb with a yield of 50 megatons

December 1961 •Russian

Documentary movie about testing of the largest nuclear weapon in history, the Tsar Bomba. Declassified and made available to the public in 2020.

USSR (1917-1991)

October 2024 •

Experimental short film that explores the rise and decline of the Soviet Union, from the revolutionary spark of 1917 to the challenges and sacrifices endured during World War II, until its dissolution in 1991.

Purple Bells

May 2022 •Hebrew

30 years after their emigration, Danni interviews his family and tries to learn their story to reconcile with the past.

Мелодии универмага

June 1972 •Russian

Charles Aznavour in Armenia

January 1964 •Armenian

The film documents Charles Aznavour's first visit to his historical homeland Armenia, his concert in Yerevan and his meeting with his grandmother.

Woman with an Editing Bench

August 2016 •English

Inspired by the woman who edited "Man with a Movie Camera" (1929), "Woman with an Editing Bench" reveals the personal impact of Stalin’s censorship of cinema on a woman navigating politics, bureaucracy and the impetuous outbursts of collaborators to create something beautiful despite the odds.

Steamlyannaya Hamonika

Invalid date •English

Steamlyannaya Hamonika (1968) depicts the isolation and brutalization of humans in modern bourgeois society. Although being broadly in line with other art-as-propaganda of the era, censors felt it could easily be read as a criticism of the party, leaving this subversive short as the only animated film to be banned in the Soviet Union.

Long Days, Short Weeks....

January 1980 •Russian

The telefilm tells about young people of the late 70s and their choice of their life path.