This Is Russia!

The Cars We Drove into Capitalism

October 2021 •Bulgarian

A cinematic, character-driven insight to what it meant to produce and to own a car in communist times: the Socialist propaganda dreams and the hard reality of living that dream. The freedom that these slow and clumsy vehicles were giving to their owners; the cars as an instrument in the Cold War battle; legends and homemade tune-ups as an attempt to stand at least a little bit off the crowd.

The Man Who Saved the World

October 2012 •English

During the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, Soviet Navy officer Vasily Arkhipov refused to launch a nuclear strike and saved the world from nuclear war and total destruction.

5x5: A Hiking Film

January 2024 •English

Five men delve deep into the mountains of Utah, hitting five national parks within five days. What seems to be a typical hiking trip manages to turn into a reflective odyssey, with nostalgia bursting at the seams. Hikes swell into past moments already experienced, and current moments turn into those that will be remembered and told for lifetimes to come.

Ascension

May 2009 •Russian

Definitively proving that all the "B" Science Fiction of the 1950s and 1960s do not hold a candle to the 'real thing,' Pavel Medvedev's surreal 45 minute documentary Ascension is certainly one to look for. Composed entirely out of archival footage, much of it from the Soviet science and space archives, delicately scored and building to an undeniable mood of surreal (perhaps even ominous) energy, it charts (and re-purposed) the progress of man into to the unknown area of space exploration with a flair for creating art out film that was shot by scientists and engineers as a mundane record.

Disaster at Chernobyl

January 2004 •English

The explosion at Chernobyl was ten times worse than the Hiroshima bomb and was due to a combination of human error and imperfect technology. An account of the sixty critical minutes prior to the explosion of the nuclear power plant on the night of April 26, 1986.

MIGNOR

January 1990 •English

Showing Sergei Parajanov at the end of his life, the film depicts the suffering of a genius against the backdrop of general anxiety and carelessness.

Journey to the West

December 2015 •French

"Journey to the West" is an embedded documentary film into a bus full of Chinese tourists visiting Europe (6 countries in 10 days!) for the very first time. This road movie captures with humor, poetry and spirit the cultural differences between China and Europe in a play of mirrors and contrasts. It also destroys the stereotypes about the emerging Chinese middle class and reveals what they think about the "others" who are "us", the Westerners.

Barbarossa: Hitler Turns East

August 2007 •Hungarian

Hitler's invasion of Russia was one of the landmark events of World War II. This documentary reveals the lead-up to the offensive, its impact on the war and the brinksmanship that resulted from the battle for Moscow. Rare footage from both German and Russian archives and detailed maps illustrate the conflict, while award-winning historian and author John Erickson provides insight into the pivotal maneuvers on the eastern front.

The Russian Cracker

August 1999 •English

Russia is grappling with a critical issue: they have become the country with the most at large serial killers in the world particularly concentrated in Rostov, the same city that witnessed Andrei Chikatilo's infamous killing spree. In response, law enforcement has turned to Dr. Alexander Bukhanovsky, a prominent psychiatrist and criminal profiler, who is implementing radical measures to understand the root causes of this phenomenon and develop effective solutions. Within Dr. Bukhanovsky's clinic, we encounter three of his young patients: Edward and Igor, whose families express deep concerns about their disturbing fantasies, and 'Mischa', who has perpetrated acts of torture and sexual assault. Dr. Bukhanovsky's approach is groundbreaking, offering treatment to potential serial offenders. However, critics argue that by keeping individuals like 'Mischa' anonymous, he may inadvertently shield them from public awareness and accountability, prompting debate over the ethics of his methods.

How the Holocaust Began

January 2023 •English

Historian James Bulgin reveals the origins of the Holocaust in the German invasion of the Soviet Union, exploring the mass murder, collaboration and experimentation that led to the Final Solution.

People of Russia

December 1942 •English

This FitzPatrick Miniature visits the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), the largest geographically unbroken political unit in the world, covering one-sixth of the world's land mass.

The Hitler–Stalin Pact

January 2019 •French

How could Hitler and Stalin, sworn ideological enemies, come to a secret pact in 1939? The captivating and detailed story of the diplomatic fiasco that led to the signing of the Nazi-Soviet pact and its devastating consequences.

Herzschlag der Kontinente

February 1987 •French

The Soviet Union's Last Stand

December 2001 •English

Documentary telling the inside story of Communist hardliners' failed attempts to seize power from Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, which resulted in the rapid collapse of the Soviet Union.

13 Faces du Valais

October 2019 •French

Sinfonía de Aragón

June 2008 •Spanish

Carlos Saura shows us in this piece his personal vision of the land where he was born. Throughout the seasons we enter a route that ranges from the green Pyrenean landscapes to the Monegros desert. The images offer us the beauty of this Aragonese land but also reflect the harshness of its contrasts.

X-Ray Audio: The Documentary

February 2016 •English

Cold War Leningrad: In a culture where the recording industry was ruthlessly controlled by the state, music lovers discovered an extraordinary alternative means of reproduction: they repurposed used x-ray film as the base for records of forbidden songs. Giving blood every week to earn enough money to buy a recording lathe, one bootlegger Rudy Fuchs cuts banned music onto such discarded x-rays to be sold on street corners by shady dealers. It was ultimate act of punk resistance, a two-fingered salute to the repressive regime that gave a generation of young Soviets access to forbidden Western and Russian music, an act for which Rudy and his fellow bootleggers would pay a heavy price.

Salir de casa

January 2016 •Spanish

After almost thirty years of his career, the musician Fran Nixon joins film director David Trueba for a travel around Spain in which they'll talk about it and meet some friends.

The Voyages of Matisse, Chasing Light

May 2020 •French

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Matisse's birth and of the exhibition at the Center Pompidou which will be dedicated to him in 2020, this art documentary brings us back to life of the journeys made by Matisse that influenced his art. And particularly his last trip to Polynesia in 1930 which will bring him to the threshold of contemporary art with the invention of his gouache cut-out papers.

Guest from the Island of Freedom

June 1963 •Russian

A documentary about Fidel Castro's visit to the USSR from April 28 to June 3, 1963 and how the Cuban leader traveled throughout the Soviet Union for 40 days, from Severodvinsk to Khiva in Uzbekistan.