The short film “Where Russia Ends” by Alexey Radinsky has been released on Takflix.com. The film is available in Ukraine with English subtitles.
“Where Russia Ends” is a mockumentary about expeditions by Ukrainian filmmakers to remote regions of Siberia in the late 1980s.
The film uses materials from the archives of Kyivnaukfilm (now the National Cinematheque of Ukraine), found in 2023. For Oleksiy Radynskyi, this became the starting point for his research into Russian imperialism.
“The film “Where Russia Ends” is my modest contribution to the current discussion about the decolonization of the Russian Federation, which will not make sense without overcoming Western ignorance about the colonized indigenous peoples of Northern Eurasia,” the director comments.
Radynsky’s film features the “diary entries” of an imaginary screenwriter who went to research locations for a future film. The director wrote the text, and the film’s producer, Lyuba Knorozok, voiced the heroine.
“Where Russia Ends” focuses on the colonial policy of the Russians, in particular, on their “renaming” of indigenous peoples. Thus, the Evenks become Tungus, the Sakha-Yakuts, and the Luoravetlan-Chukchi. The exploitation “development” of lands (oil, gas, coal extraction) and the construction of pipelines are also emphasized.
The film received the Main Award, the Audience Award and the Special Mention of the Ukrainian Film Critics Union at KISFF. As well as the Kinokolo Award for Best Short Documentary Film 2024. “Where Russia Ends” was screened at Sheffield Doc Fest and Molodist IFF, and won the Best Short Film award at the Riga Film Festival.
Takflix donates 10% of each movie ticket to the “Return Alive” foundation, and another 50% to the filmmakers.
