USSR 30: Cinema after the Collapse

Schedule

Thu Nov 04 2021 at 10:00 am to Sat Nov 06 2021 at 09:00 pm

Location

University of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA

DESCRIPTION:
On the 30th anniversary of the fall of the USSR, this three-day program will provide a front-row seat to history, featuring films from various countries and filmmakers, scholars, activists, and other international thought leaders participating in discussions about life and filmmaking in the post-Soviet world.
The large-scale shifts in society that resulted from the dissolution of the Soviet Union will be represented and interpreted through feature, documentary, and short films. Such artistic responses to this pivotal political moment pose fundamental human questions, tackling the effects of displacement—physical, ideological, psychological, economic, spiritual—amidst the difficulty of interpreting arbitrary and constantly shifting borders. As the remnants of a fallen empire deal with the lingering effects of war, ethnic conflict, economic collapse, and new world orders, human dramas emerge as we come to terms with history, identity, community, and hope.
Schedule:
Thursday, November 4, 2021, from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Ray Stark Family Theatre, SCA 108
Please check back to RSVP.
6 p.m. to 7 p.m.: Reception
7 p.m.: The Event (Russia, 2015. Directed by Sergei Loznitsa. Running Time: 74 min.)
The found-footage epic about the failed coup of August 1991 that signaled the fall of the Soviet Union will be followed by a virtual panel discussion with the documentary’s director Sergei Loznitsa, critically acclaimed filmmaker and scholar Atom Egoyan, and Robert English, professor of international relations, Slavic languages, and literature at USC.
Friday, November 5, 2021, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Norris Cinema Theatre
Please check back to RSVP.
7 p.m.: Should The Wind Drop (Armenia/France/Belgium, 2020. Directed by Nora Martirosyan. Running Time: 100 min.)
The bold drama, which screened at Cannes and as been selected as the Armenian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards, will be followed by a panel discussion with director Nora Martirosyan; Nancy Condee, professor of Russian culture, cinema, and cultural politics at the University of Pittsburgh; and Salpi Ghazarian, director of the USC Institute of Armenian Studies.
Saturday, November 6, 2021, from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Norris Cinema Theatre
Please check back to RSVP
1 p.m.: “At The Ends of the Earth” (Russia, 1999. Directed by Konstantin Bronzit. Running Time: 7 min.)
1:10 p.m.: And Then We Danced (Georgia/Sweden, 2019. Directed by Levan Akin. Running Time: 105 min.)
3:35 p.m.: “Last Chance for Justice” (Modova/Kyrgyzstan, 2021. Directed by Marina Shupac. Running Time: 23 min.)
5 p.m.: Leviathan (Russia, 2014. Directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev. Running Time: 140 min.)
Following fantastic animation, dramatic romance, gripping documentary, and epic satire, a wide-ranging panel discussion will feature Dr. Aniko Imre, professor of cinema & media studies at USC ; Nancy Condee, professor of Russian culture, cinema, and cultural politics at the University of Pittsburgh; Susanna Harutyunyan, co-founder and artistic director of the Golden Apricot International Film Festival; Tom Seifried, professor of Slavic languages and literature at USC; and Shushan Karapetian, deputy director of the USC Institute of Armenian Studies.
8:15 p.m.: “JAZZ: Fool Around” (Armenia, 2019. Directed by David Babayan. Running Time: 7 min.)
8:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Reception
The short animated comedy will be followed by a reception in Queen’s Courtyard featuring a jazz performance by USC Thornton School of Music students.
Related events will include two days of screenings at the USC Tacori Center in Mayakovski, Armenia, on the outskirts of Yerevan, in August 2021 and a workshop for USC students in spring 2022.
Presented by USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative. Organized by the USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies and USC Department of Slavic Languages and Literature. Co-sponsored by the USC School of Cinematic Arts, USC School of International Relations, and USC Armenian Students Association.
Photo: Gagik Harutyunyan, April 13, 1991. Published in his collection Shadows of Time: The Photographic Art of Gagik Harutyunyan 1970-1995 (Yerevan, 2017).

Where is it happening?

University of Southern California, 3551 Trousdale Pkwy, Los Angeles, CA 90089, United States

Event Location & Nearby Stays:

Host or Publisher USC Visions and Voices

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