ZAPLYV

Run-down houses in an abandoned settlement in the southern corner of Russia, by the Black Sea. A well-known and controversial Soviet physicist, Boris Zolotov lives here. In the mid-1980s, Zolotov decided to leave his research institution to follow his own beliefs. Today these take the form of hour-long swimming rituals, mantra-like lectures and night-time theater performances. A group of people have collected around him. Like many in the group, the young Ekaterina was led here by the many questions which remained unanswered elsewhere.

“The film shows the life of a former scientist, Boris Zolotov, who shares his believes with a group of people. For me, this particular group is a natural branching off or perhaps a continuation of a deeply-rooted Russian need. Indeed, the film was made in Russia and it can be said, that Russia has a strong relationship to altruistic beliefs, as well as that the feeling of putting trust in an authoritarian person and following him corresponds to a certain Russian mentality, which could be traced back to the Russian history. With Swimmers I aim to get a bit closer to this phenomena in order to understand the contemporary situation in Russia a bit better.”

regia, fotografia, montaggio, produttore/director, cinematography, film editing, producer
Kristina Paustian
musica/music
Artem Bezukladnikov
suono/sound
Christian Obermaier, Kristina Kainer, Jochen Jezussek
interpreti/cast
Boris E. Zolotov, Ekaterina Vasilenko
produzione/production
Universität der Künste, Berlin


contatti/contacts
www.kristinapaustian.com
zaplyv@gmail.com