- year : 2022
- country : Russia
- timing : 33:42'
- genre : documentary
- producer : Svetlana Stasenko
written by Svetlana Stasenko
produced by Liza Antonova, Svetlana Stasenko
DoP Artem Ignatov
music by Arnold Giskin
sound by Ekaterina Turaeva
editor Svetlana Stasenko
production company: Passenger Studio LLC
Three years before the start of the «special operation» the orthodox priests were focused on the servicemen. In the sermons they were glorifying the President and so-called traditional values, talking about immortality of the soul and Kingdom of Heaven. What actually was an aim of that powerful campaign – to prepare Russian soldiers for sacrifice or… contingent for slaughter? It seems the third option was not considered.
- Artdocfest International Documentary Film Festival(2022, Latvia, Riga, Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, Uzbekistan, Tashkent)
- Russian Documentary Film Competition Show RUS!, Best Short Film (2022, Russia, Moscow)
- SlovoNovo Forum of Free Culture (2022, Israel, Tel Aviv)
- Pacific Meridian International Film Festival of Asian Pacific Countries (2022, Russia, Vladivostok)
- Novaya Gazeta Film Festival (2022, Russia, Moscow)
- DokuBaku International Documentary Film Festival (2022, Azerbaijan, Baku)
- International Film Festival "Northern Character", Special Diploma (2022, Russia, Murmansk)
- Laurel Branch Award, Long-list (2022, Russia, Moscow)
- Echo of Artdocfest Film Festival (2022, Armenia, Yerevan)
- Tromsø International Film Festival (2023, Norway, Tromsø)
Director’s statement
We were making another film in the Arctic Circle, and suddenly found out that the icon of the Holy Mandylion that was about to be brought to the St. Tryphon-Pechenga Monastery. This icon travels all year round across the military units of Russia - from the Black Sea to Vladivostok, and back through the North, to the Barents Sea, the White sea and St. Petersburg. And the soldiers are rounded up to greet her. This icon is famous for being painted “at the personal expense of Russia’s Supreme Commander-in-Chief” (the President). Of course, we “dropped everything” and rushed to get the footage. And we didn't regret it. The priest did not care to mention that the icon of the Mandylion had been depicted on Russian military flags since the time of Alexander Nevsky; he didn’t say a word about the author of this icon (by the way, it was beautifully painted), but he repeated several times to the soldiers whose “personal funds” (the President’s) were used to fund the creation of the icon. We a real theatre of absurdity.
ABOUT THE FILM DIRECTOR:
Svetlana Stasenko was born in Izhevsk, Russia. Graduated from Lomonosov Moscow State University as a journalist and Higher Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors (VKSR) as a film director.
Works in both fiction and documentary films. Collaborated with companies such as "Rock", "Good production", "Risk", "Tskaro", "Forward", "Gamma", "RWS", "Etnoland", "Passenger" and others. Member of the Union of Cinematographers of Russia and Directors Guild of Russia, Member of the International Academy of Television and Radio, winner of Russian and International Film Festivals.
FILMOGRAPHY:
2022 - "Jumping-off place", documentary
2021 - "There lived twelve robbers", documentary
2020 - "Spitak. Thirty years of Solitude", documentary
2018 - "Shamanic lessons for beginners", documentary
2015 - "The Piano", documentary
2014 - "Julia and the Shamans", documentary
2013 - "The drug addict’s diary" documentary
2013 - "The Tram Romance", documentary
2012 - "Through the needles of coniferous trees", documentary
2011 - "I have no blood", documentary
2009 - "Uplifting", documentary
2009 - "Free People" documentary
2007 - "V. I. Lenin. The myths keep secret about it", documentary
2006 - "Always your Andrei Mironov", documentary
2005 - "Maya Kristalinskaya", documentary
2004 - Mirage over Cupid, a documentary
2004 - The Baikal Trap, documentary
2004 - "Angel on the sidelines", fiction film
2002 - The Caryatids, documentary
2001 - "Boulevard Passions", documentary
2001 - "Spring is coming", documentary
2001 - "Karambolina", short fiction film
2000 - "Sliver", documentary
2000 - "Space Wanderer", documentary
2000 - "Alexander F. Sklyar. Song", documentary
1998 - "No need to pity us", short fiction film
1997 - "Rolling poet", documentary
