2009
USTALA explores the notion of dystopia. The story takes place in the Russian model city of Tolyatti, which was built on utopian foundations in the 1950s and 60s. Significant political and historic events—the fall of the Iron Curtain and the dismantling of the Soviet Union—transformed the collective paradise into capitalist chaos. Utopia became dystopia. In the film a group of Russian kids loiter among the silent monuments and the debris of this former Communist paradise. Their repetitive acts seem to suggest that they are caught up in a ritual. Do they really want to escape from this apocalyptic setting?
Video: 19:16 min. fragment: 1:19 min.