The Novgorod Spaceship

Like an alien vessel left on the shores of the Volkhov River, the building which is host to the Dostoyevsky Academic Drama Theatre is within one kilometer of the walls of the famous Kremlin in Novgorod, Russia. Erected during the last years of the Soviet regime, this symbol of modern architecture has for many decades mocked the ancestral heritage of the city, as well as the mediocre tastes of its population. This light and humorous film retells the tale of a strange theater’s survival and fall, however slow but obvious, to the hands of bureaucrats. A glaring metaphor for Russian society, this rich piece is punctuated by footage and collages relating an important cultural issue.