21.10.2025 at 17:40. NC 6: Conversation | Once upon in Leningrad, Avrora, Small Hall

Description

A film about Pavel Klushantsev (1910–1999), an outstanding Soviet director at the Lennauchfilm studio and creator of popular science films about space, who foresaw advancements in space exploration decades ahead. Drawing on unique documentary footage, the film traces Klushantsev’s life story. He endured revolutions, wars, professional triumphs, and dismissal from his beloved work, yet never lost faith in humanity’s boundless potential to build a better world.

About the director:

Mikhail Arkhipov
Director, editor, and film scholar. Initially trained as a space communications engineer. Graduated in 2017 from St. Petersburg University of Cinema and Television, studying under Oleg Kovalov. Arkhipov’s short film debut, Fuel (2019), screened at numerous domestic and international events, winning awards, including recognition for best short at Kinotavr, Konik, and Kinoproba film festivals. His first feature film, Planet, premiered in the main competition at the Moscow International Film Festival.

Description

World premiere

The film is based on a spontaneous interview with Godovannaya’s father, recorded at an airport in the summer of 2022. For the first time, he shares his family album, revealing moments of childhood, growing up, military service, and photos of cherished friends, relatives, children, and grandchildren, alongside stories of relocations, encounters, and partings.

About the director:

Masha Godovannaya
Director, artist, and curator. Born in 1976 in Moscow, she has lived in New York, St. Petersburg, Vienna, and Mexico City. She created numerous experimental films, installations, and performances, with her films featured at international film festivals including Rotterdam, London, Oberhausen, Galway, and Lumen, as well as the Vienna Triennial and the Centre Pompidou. Her works are held in collections at the State Russian Museum, the Austrian Film Museum in Vienna, and in Parisian and New York collections. Godovannaya served on the jury for the In Silico programme at the 2013 Message to Man IFF; in 2024, she participated in the National Competition with her film There Is Still More to Come.