THE FOUNDATION PIT / KOTLOVAN
A bizarre craze has recently taken over many Russians, who dig massive foundation pits where they plan to build in the future. In most cases the pits remain empty for years resulting in many comic yet tragic newsworthy incidents. Composed of dozens of YouTube videos and on-camera complaints by citizens who are looking for any reason to criticise Vladimir Putin, Andrei Gryazev’s documentary offers up a psychological portrait of a tormented society that knows it is being dragged through the dirt, while also proving that you don’t need much of a budget to tell a an important and true story well.
The film is also available for screening on festival's digital platform. For additional information please visit online.aiff.gr.
RUSSIA | 2020 | COLOR | DCP | 71' | RUSSIAN
‘Foundation pit’ is a giant pit in which a future construction will be founded. It’s also the title of a famous anti-establishment novel by Andrei Platonov, which satirizes Stalin’s totalitarian state of the interwar period, a novel that was published with a delay of almost 60 years... It seems that this troubled land, its hapless people that is, see a light they can never rich. Gryazev collects tens of amateur videos from YouTube, where citizens protest against Vladimir Putin, the country’s first citizen for essentially 21 years. All these ahead of a satirical and exasperating first 15 minutes, speak of a tormented national soul and also a vilification, an unanswered question-accusation addressed to the, as ever, partially deaf authority. I.D.
DIRECTOR: Andrey Gryazev
SCREENWRITER: Andrey Gryazev
ANDREY GRYAZEV
Russian former athlete (ice skater) and classical dancer, now a documentarist, editor and cinematographer. He was born in Moscow in 1982 and studied at the First National Television School of the country.
FILMOGRAPHY
2020 The Foundation Pit
2012 Tomorrow
2010 Miner's Day
2009 Sanya and Sparrow
