Moscow Summer
Documentary, 80 minutes, 1996Moscow Summer is a street-level portrait of Moscow and its people. Following the course of a single summer this documentary explores the nuances of the city and the moods of its people — their hopes, their fears, their disappointments. Throughout the film, compelling visual sequences are interwoven with impromptu “on–the–street” interviews. In this way, resonances grow from the combination of the ideas arising in testimony with the sensuous impact of the candid images. So while Moscow’s social and political turmoil form an undercurrent in the film, ultimately Moscow Summer is a film about love and humanity, and those are the qualities with which it has been made.
Amnon Buchbinder, Toronto International Film Festival:
Never less than totally captivating, never less than ravishing.
Ingird Randoja, Now Magazine:
**** Moving…gorgeous black–and–white photography.
Stew Slater, SEE Magazine:
***1/2 Captivating!
Fast Forward Magazine (review/interview):
A truly unique documentary that conveys both ideas and feelings in an artful way.
Selected Festival Screenings:
- Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume, Paris, France, 1999
- Festival of Words, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, 1998
- Saskatchewan Showcase, Saskatchewan, Canada, 1997 — Winner Best Cinematography award
- Palm Springs Film Festival, Palms Springs, California, 1997
- WorldFest International Film Festival, Charleston, South Carolina, 1996 — Winner Best Foreign Film award
- Toronto International Film Festival, Toronto, Canada, 1996
CREDITS | |
Produced, Directed and Photographed by | Robin Schlaht |
Music by | Jeff Frank |
Sound Design | Pat Butler |
Sound Recordist | Alexei Klimov |
Editor | Robin Schlaht |
Research Assistant | Ksenia Stepanenko |
Interviewer | Natasha Erukhimovich |
Production Assistants | Nikholai Orlov Oksana Medvedeva Pavel Stelnikov |
Subtitles | Anna Mnushkin |
Thanks to | Victor Erukhimovich Julia Ivanova Maria Melnikova Alexei Gladkov Michael Masteravoy Raisa K. Fomina Igor Kokarev Todd Irving Scott Collins Irina Angel Bernard Lavigne Richard Kerr Stephan Onda Stephan Hall Ron Jacobs Elizabeth Flynn |
and | The Ascension Orthodox School Moscow Boarding School #2 Moroz Records Intercinema |
Special thanks to | Svetlana Mikhaeleva Igor Erukhimovich Irina Poselenova |
Made with the financial participation of:
The Saskatchewan Filmpool Cooperative The Saskatchewan Arts Board The Canada Council National Film Board of Canada (PAFPS) Saskatchewan Communications Network SaskFilm |
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Filmed entirely in Moscow, Russia
June – August 1995 |