Lord of the Flies + Champion Number One (Vladimir Tyulkin, 1991)

Scottish/UK premieres; with an introduction by curator Ilia Ryzhenko

Wheelchair accessible | English subtitles | Pay-what-you-can tickets (£2–12)

If the ticket or other costs, such as childcare or transport, make this screening unaffordable, please see details of our .

Experimental documentarian Vladimir Tyulkin filmed some of the strangest comedic documentaries of the late Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic; more than three decades later, this is the first-ever UK screening of Champion Number One and the first screening of Lord of the Flies in Scotland.

In Lord of the Flies, we spend time in the company of an older man who declares a war on flies infesting his small farm. Accompanied by his endless slew of pets (chickens, rabbits, dogs, and a hawk), he invents a ‘flytrone’, a contraption he also believes to be capable of solving world famine.

Champion Number One focuses on a loquacious conman who nearly wins a trial after representing himself in court, starts the first Kazakh Pr*son-based gym equipment manufacturer, and becomes the last Soviet arm wrestling champion upon his release.

With a farcical mixture of pathos and crudeness, Tyulkin’s subjects muse on Soviet morality, civil responsibility, pest control tactics, and everything in between — enjoy the wild ride.

Content notes: references to political repression, references to animal death, references to violence and sexual threat, graphic depictions of animal flesh/carrion

Access notes: flashing lights, loud noises

* Please note, The Lower Hall at the Pyramid at Anderston is wheelchair accessible through a ramp at a side entrance. There are 9 steps between the level where it is located and the rest of the venue, meaning that to make way to the accessible toilet or other parts of the building, wheelchair users will need to re-enter via the main entrance. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Host or Publisher Samizdat Eastern European Film Festival