- year : 2019
- country : Russia
- timing : 90:56'
- genre : documentary
- producer : Alexander Gornovsky
written by Olga Gudanets, Alexander Gornovsky
produced by Alexander Gornovsky, Olga Gudanets
DoPs Ivan Pomorin, Konstantin Miromanov, Evgeny Greenstein, Anton Elchaninov, Kirill Ivanov, Lev Smorodinov
music by Evgeny Kadimsky
sound by Evgeny Kadimsky
editor Alexander Gornovsky
production designer Andrey Ionov
Lake Baikal is the biggest freshwater lake in the world. It’s famous for its beauty and its unique ecosystem. Presently, Lake Baikal is facing the threat of degradation because of human activity. Baikal contains 80% of Russia’s surface freshwater resources and 20% of the world’s surface fresh water. 800 endemic species live in Baikal. Baikal is more than 20 million years old. Our film is a declaration of love for Baikal. We give an honest and objective analysis of the main issues facing what the locals reverentially call “Saint Sea”. Scientists, ecologists, managers of the Baikal nature reserves and native people discuss the future of the lake in our film. The film does not only talk about Baikal’s problems, but it offers ways of solving them. Baikal’s transcendent beauty, indeed its very existence, depends on us, on every person.
- International Festival of Christian Films "Nevsky Blagovest" (2019, Russia, St. Petersburg)
- International Festival of Science Documentary Films Academia Film Olomouc (2020, Czech Republic, Olomouc)
- SCINEMA International Science Film Festival (2020, Australia, Adelaide)
- International Nature Film Festival Gödöllő (2020, Hungary, Budapest)
- Independent Russian-American Documentary Film Festival (2021, United State, New York)
Director’s statement
The film “Baikal: Code Red?” is a kind of a declaration of love for the region of my birth and my desire to save Baikal. I grew up near Baikal, spent my childhood there, and I cannot put up with what is happening with Baikal now. The main idea of the film is to talk scrupulously, honestly and objectively about the current problems of Baikal. And to suggest ways out of the current crisis.
ABOUT THE FILM DIRECTOR:
Alexander Gornovsky was born on 27.02.1973 in Irkutsk, Russia. In 1995 graduated from Irkutsk State Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages n.a. Ho Chi Minh. In 2004 graduated from The Gerasimov Russian State University of Cinematography (VGIK) as a film director (workshop by K. Shakhnazarova, A.Eshpaya, V. Fenchenko, O. Shukhera).
FILMOGRAPHY:
2020 - "Disappearing Stories", series
2019 - "Baikal: Code Red?", documentary
2018 - "The Duet", TV series
2017 - "The Way", documentary
2013 - "The Dugout", television series
2010 - "The 5-th Blood Group", TV series
2009 - "Competition in dominoes and checkers", documentary
2009 - "Ward #6", full-length film
2007 - "20 Cigarettes", full-length film
2005 - "Against the current with Valentin Rasputin", documentary
2004 - "The Son", short student film / diploma
2001 - "Looking for Bread", short student film
