At the Edge of Russia
Documentary Films - Competition 2011 / Koniec Rosji / Poland 2010
Young Polish documentarist Michał Marczak’s directorial debut takes us to the very edge of northern Russia. There, not far from the icy Arctic Ocean, in a place hundreds of kilometers from the nearest residence, one of the last border stations still operates under the supervision of five veteran soldiers and a rookie.
Synopsis
Young Polish documentarist Michał Marczak’s directorial debut, awarded at the Hot Docs festival, takes us to the very edge of northern Russia. There, not far from the icy Arctic Ocean, in a place hundreds of kilometers from the nearest residence, one of the last border stations still operates under the supervision of five veteran soldiers. And Alexei, a 19-year-old recruit, is headed their way. Despite the obvious absurdity of guarding the border, where only a polar bear might accidentally wander across, the soldiers don’t shirk from fulfilling their daily duty. Jittery Alexei is thus not only initiated into his border guard responsibilities but also into the essential rituals necessary for surviving in the snowy wasteland. Beyond the portraits of the individual soldiers and their life together, this visually striking picture probes the "Russian soul,” a concept whose meaning is often difficult to grasp.
About the film
72 min / Color, HD CAM
Director Michał Marczak
/ Screenplay Michał Marczak
/ Dir. of Photography Radosław Ładczuk
/ Editor Dorota Wardeszkiewicz
/ Producer Marianna Rowińska
/ Production Ozumi Films
/ Contact Michał Marczak, DR Sales
About the director
Michał Marczak (b. 1982, Warsaw) took courses in direction and multimedia studies at the California Institute of the Arts, studied philosophy at Warsaw University, photography at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań, and documentary direction at the Andrzej Wajda Master School of Film Directing in Warsaw. He started out making video clips and commercials and only began filming documentaries in recent years. He enjoyed success with his short film A Woman Sought (Kobieta poszukiwana, 2009). His feature-length documentary At the Edge of Russia (2010) won the main prize at the Planete Doc Review festival in Warsaw.
Contacts
Michał Marczak
str. Kaniowska 1, 01-529, Warsaw
Poland
Phone: +48 602 737 079
E-mail: marczakmarczak@gmail.com
DR Sales
Emil Holms Kanal 20, 2. – 5., DK-0999, København
Denmark
Phone: +45 352 030 40
E-mail: drsales@dr.dk
Guests
Marianna Rowinska
Producer
Michał Marczak
Film Director
Maria Letowska
Maciej Karpinski
Film Institution Rep., Film Institution Rep.
