HYMN OF THE PLAGUE. Short Film, 13:25 minutes.
In times of massive change, in times of war and repression everyday life begins to slip away. The past floats up into the present and the future, transparent and unattainable. Strange events take place and unspeakable forces come to life. At first it is hardly noticeable, but overtime it becomes larger than life itself.
The orchestra records “A Feast in Time of Plague” in an old music hall. Noises interfere with the recording, the walls are trembling, the lights turn off… “I think it was an earthquake”, says Naum, one of the musicians, while Timofey argues that everything is not what it seems. In this chaos and confusion, the recording resumes. The camera flies across the hall like a ghost. A specter. It watches the space change continuously in one long frame. The walls stop being walls and objects stop being objects as the space gradually loses its meaning. A haunting force fills the four walls of the recording studio. The scene collapses into chaos as the characters disappear.
While writing this film, we were inspired by Julio Cortazar’s short story “House Taken”. The simple and yet powerful political story studies the relationship between people and repressive forces, represented as a haunting, push a family out of their home. Our characters, like in this story, do not notice how their reality slowly cracks at the seams changing their world entirely.
The space around the musicians in this film holds decades of oppression, censorship and fear. The past absorbs their life, muffling their music and trapping in the in-between time like apparitions.
The international and world premiere of the film will take place at the 77th edition of the Locarno Film Festival in August 2024, where it has been selected in the "Pardi di Domani" International Competition.
In times of massive change, in times of war and repression everyday life begins to slip away. The past floats up into the present and the future, transparent and unattainable. Strange events take place and unspeakable forces come to life. At first it is hardly noticeable, but overtime it becomes larger than life itself.
The orchestra records “A Feast in Time of Plague” in an old music hall. Noises interfere with the recording, the walls are trembling, the lights turn off… “I think it was an earthquake”, says Naum, one of the musicians, while Timofey argues that everything is not what it seems. In this chaos and confusion, the recording resumes. The camera flies across the hall like a ghost. A specter. It watches the space change continuously in one long frame. The walls stop being walls and objects stop being objects as the space gradually loses its meaning. A haunting force fills the four walls of the recording studio. The scene collapses into chaos as the characters disappear.
While writing this film, we were inspired by Julio Cortazar’s short story “House Taken”. The simple and yet powerful political story studies the relationship between people and repressive forces, represented as a haunting, push a family out of their home. Our characters, like in this story, do not notice how their reality slowly cracks at the seams changing their world entirely.
The space around the musicians in this film holds decades of oppression, censorship and fear. The past absorbs their life, muffling their music and trapping in the in-between time like apparitions.
The international and world premiere of the film will take place at the 77th edition of the Locarno Film Festival in August 2024, where it has been selected in the "Pardi di Domani" International Competition.
Written and directed by: Ataka51
Cinematrography by: Sergei Medvedev
Music composed and performed by: Leonid Fedorov,Vladimir Martynov, Tatiana Grindenko and “Opus Posth” ensemble
Production designer: Nastassia Bezrukova
Cosume designer: Nadja Vasilieva
CG: Andrei Bulatchick, Ataka51, Post-Tribe, Andrey Zvyagin, Rustem Gebekov
Sound Design: Stanislav Paushev, Artem Slesarev
Presented by: Eversince*
Produced by: Stereotactic
Executive producer: Pavel Karykhalin
Producer: Dmitry Bocharov
Post-producer: Olga Zorina
Cinematrography by: Sergei Medvedev
Music composed and performed by: Leonid Fedorov,Vladimir Martynov, Tatiana Grindenko and “Opus Posth” ensemble
Production designer: Nastassia Bezrukova
Cosume designer: Nadja Vasilieva
CG: Andrei Bulatchick, Ataka51, Post-Tribe, Andrey Zvyagin, Rustem Gebekov
Sound Design: Stanislav Paushev, Artem Slesarev
Presented by: Eversince*
Produced by: Stereotactic
Executive producer: Pavel Karykhalin
Producer: Dmitry Bocharov
Post-producer: Olga Zorina