A Female Take on Russia 2009 / Nižnaja Kaledonija / Russia 2008
Vorsin’s rootlessness resonates with meditations on the mysterious voice of the wind. It tells stories which rise to the surface and scatter once more… A scientific expedition to a major river in the southern steppes not only offers him an opportunity for romantic adventures, but prompts him to reflect on the meaning and sense of his own existence.
Vorsin fritters away his time enjoying romantic adventures. His free spirit resonates with the sound of the wind, which whispers its curious stories. They rise to the surface and scatter once more, like human stories whose significance and sense slowly diminish with time. Is it better to ignore them, or give them some kind of direction?... Above the mighty river, a young man from a steppe village is determinedly hammering a sign into the bank which bears the exotic name of Lower Caledonia… Vorsin is persuaded by his sister Olga, a passionate ichthyologist, to come with her on a trip to the river. The events colouring this scientific expedition are interwoven with bizarre incidents involving steppe adventurers, visions of bloody battles and the pagan rituals of early nomads. Has their unbridled elemental force been passed on to current generations? Vorsin, bullied and loved by Olga, lets his mind drift away towards his romantic conquests and, instinctively, face to face with nature in its wildest form, contemplates the purpose of his own existence. He tries to understand what role he plays in the world that has devoured him and which a local dreamer re-christened with the imaginary name of Lower Caledonia.
101 min / Color, 35 mm
Director Yulia Kolesnik
/ Screenplay Andrej Migačev / Andrey Migatchev
/ Dir. of Photography Anatolij Petriga / Anatoly Petriga
/ Music Andrej Sigle / Andrey Sigle
/ Editor Taťjana Prilenskaja / Tatyana Prilenskaya
/ Producer Jurij Obuchov / Yuri Obukhov
/ Production KinoPROBA Studio
/ Cast Nikita Tunin, Marija Veličkina / Maria Velichkina, Velimir Rusakov
/ Contact KinoPROBA Studio
Yulia Kolesnik (b. 1970, Minsk) studied geography at Moscow State University and film direction in the experimental year headed by Marlen Khuziev at VGIK (2002). Apart from the documentary films An Island of Aphrodite (Ostrov Afrodity, 1997) and The Forellen Quintet (Forelny kvintyet, 2000), she made several short video films: The Gun (Ruzhyo, 1997), Impatience of Feelings (Nyetyerpeniye chuvstv, 1997), Materialization (Matyerializatsiya, 1998) and The Morning 2001 (Utro 2001, 1999). Her graduate short feature film Let’s Go for a Walk (Progulka, 2002) was awarded Best Student Film at Karlovy Vary and elsewhere. She then established the Pinguin Pictures studio, she made clips for TV channel STS’s programme Look! (Posmotri!), and she has been involved in video installations and photographic exhibitions. Lower Caledonia is her feature debut.
KinoPROBA Studio
Pushkinskaya Sq. 2, 127 006, Moscow
Russia
Phone: +7 985 776 4639
Fax: +7 495 694 0976
E-mail: [email protected]
Yulia Kolesnik
Film Director, Film Director
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