Kumu Documentary: From the East / D’Est
Location: Kumu auditorium
Dir Chantal Akerman
Belgium, France and Portugal 1993, 110 min
In German, Polish and Russian, with English subtitles
Introduction by Liina Siib
The quasi-fictional documentary by Chantal Akerman was shot in the early 1990s, after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Travelling from the former East Germany to Moscow, she passes through Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine. With alternating static shots and film footage, the director has recorded life in the territory of the Eastern Bloc. In this state-of-the-art film with an enchanting atmosphere, various spaces, landscapes, anonymous masses and matter appear in the frame, forming a visually hypnotic audio-visual journey into the recent past of the region.
Chantal Akerman (1950‒2015) is considered one of the most important film directors in the world. Her Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Brussels was chosen as the best film of all time in 2022 by the British film magazine Sight and Sound.
We thank: the Royal Belgian Film Archive
