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moviesTHE EVENT

THE EVENT / 2015

SYNOPSIS

In August 1991 a failed coup d'état attempt(known as Putsch) led by a group of hard-core communists in Moscow, ended the 70-year-long rule of the Soviets. The USSR collapsed soon after, and the tricolour of the sovereign Russian Federation flew over Kremlin. As president Gorbachev was detained by the coup leaders, state-run tv and radio channels, usurped by the putschists, broadcast Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake instead of news bulletins, and crowds of protestors gathered around Moscow's White House, preparing to defend the stronghold of democratic opposition led by Boris Yeltsin, in the city of Leningrad thousands of confused, scared, excited and desperate peaple poured into the streets to become a part of the event, which was supposed to change their destiny. A quarter of a century later, Sergei Loznitsa revisits the dramatic moments of August 1991 and casts an eye on the event which was hailed worldwide as the birth of "Russian democracy". What really happened in Russia in August 1991? What was the driving force behind the crowds on the Place Square in Leningrad? What exactly are we witnessing: the collapse or the regime or it's creative re-branding? Who are these peaple looking at the camera: victors or victims?

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

original title
СОБЫТИЕ [SOBYTIE]
english title
THE EVENT
genre
documentary
country
The Niederlands, Belgium
year
2015
language
Russian
color
b&w
runtime
74 min
sound
5.1
aspect ratio
1.37:1
film format
DCP-2K

CREW

written & directed
Sergei Loznitsa
director(s) of photography
Vladimir Glazkov, Vadim Donets, Vladimir Dyakonov, Alexander Ivanov, Sergei Lando, Vladimir Morozov, Igor Petrov, Lev Rozhin
sound
Vladimir Golovnitski
editing
Danielius Kokanauskis
archive research
Sergei Gelver
producer(s)
Sergei Loznitsa, Maria Choustova
co-production
Cinematek
production
Atoms&Void

The Event by Sergei Loznitsa at the ICAby Jagger Biggs, 2019-10-04, www.russianartandculture.com

Soon after, the USSR collapsed, ending the 70-year-long rule of the Soviets. This carefully compiled documentary film transports viewers back to the confusion and optimism of August 1991. It questions what revolution means in the post-Soviet context more widely, and leaves us wondering whether its participants are victors or victims.

TRAILER