Russian Lessons
An investigation into Russian preparation and execution of the war in Georgia, 2008.
The film starts as a journey by the two directors-protagonists, Olga and Andrei, one on each side of the frontline during the 2008 Russian-Georgian war. A personal take of the two Russians on war, politics, political culture and history focuses first of all on human drama before coming up with assessments. They gradually emerge, however, as the intercut double journey progresses, the two meet on the frontline and return to their native St. Petersburg with the footage they shot during the war.
In their cutting room the filmmakers analyze and edit their material, and this process becomes a part of the actual film. Using this device the film strives to integrate hard fact analysis into the narrative of the two filmmakers’ journey through space and time, but also through the minefield of propaganda and emotional manipulation that have surrounded the Russo-Georgian confrontation.
Importantly, the film puts the recent war in the context of the post-Soviet history which has managed to keep its darkest pages away from international public’s attention despite dozens of relevant UN resolutions and OSCE conventions. At the same time as Milosevic and his henchmen were earning the reputation of the biggest evil of the post-communist world, a perfectly comparable, but perhaps even more cruel, campaign of terror and ethnic cleansing was happening in Georgia considered by some as Russia’s sphere of “privileged strategic interests”.
The film is the directorial debut of Olga Konskaya, a prominent film producer and human rights campaigner, who, sadly, passed away while finishing the film, at the age of 44.
Technical Specifications
Original title Russian Lessons (Уроки русского)
Year 2010
Length 110 min, 58 min
Languages Russian, Georgian
Production companies Piraya Film, Dreamscanner
Production countries Norway, Russia
Sales/Distribution International Sales Festival distribution: The Norwegian Film Institute.
Format DCP / HDCam
World Premiere Sundance Film Festival, Jan 26, 2010
IMDB https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1560170/
Awards
2011 Nominee Cinema for Peace Award for Justice, USA
2010 Nominated for Prix Europa – Best Current Affairs Programming
2010 Norwegian Short Film Festival: The Golden Chair for Best Norwegian Documentary
2010 Nominated for Amanda Award, Best Documentary, Norwegian Film Festival
2010 Nominee, Sundance Film Festival
Festivals
2010
Ronda International Film Festival, Spain
Scanorama, Lithuania
Rencontres Intl du documentaire de Montréal, Canada
One World Bratislava, Slovakia
Leeds International Film Festival, UK
CPH:DOX, Denmark
Sheffield Doc/Fest, UK
Kaohsiung Film Festival, Taiwan
Dok Leipzig, Germany
Prix Europa, Germany
doclisboa, Portugal
Intl Human Rights Film Festival, Albania
Vancouver Intl Film Festival, Canada
Nordisk Panorama – Five Cities Film Festival, Bergen, Norway
DMZ DOCS, Korea
Baltic Sea Documentary Forum, Latvia
Aye Aye Film Festival, Nancy-Lorraine, France
Melbourne Intl Film Festival, Australia
Era New Horizons Intl Film Festival, Poland
New Zealand Intl Film Festival
Ischia Film Festival, Italy
Internationale Münchner Filmwochen, Germany
Norwegian Short Film Festival, Grimstad
San Francisco Int. Film Festival, USA
Signes de Nuit Film Festival, Paris, France
Hong Kong International Film Festival
Tampere Film Festival, Finland
One World International Human Rights Film Festival, Czech Republic
Rotterdam International Film Festival, Netherlands
Sundance Film Festival, USA
