Blockade

The images comprise only material Sergei Loznitsa found in the archives in Moscow about the siege of Leningrad during the World War II. By providing the originally silent images with a meticulously reconstructed and almost perfect soundtrack, the scenes from everyday life under siege seem to be set in the present. By not intervening in the montage but giving the scenes room to tell a story, the scenes transcend the specific historic events and lead a new life. They do not evoke memories of the past, but become a breathtaking reanimation of reality.

Details

Country of Production
Russia

Year of Production
2005

Format
35mm, Digi Beta Pal, Beta SP

Length
52 min

Director
Sergei Loznitsa

Production
St. Petersburg Documentary Film Studio

Original Language
without words

Festivals / Awards

Russian Cinema Critics Award “White Elephant” for Best Documentary 2005
Russian National Award “Nika” in the category Best Documentary 2005
Rotterdam IFF 2006
IndieLisboa 2006
Visions du Réel Nyon 2006
DOCUMENTA Madrid 2006 (Second Prix for Long Films)
INPUT TV conference Taipei 2006
KONTAKT IDF Kiev 2006 (Grand Prix)
Nomination for Russian Award LAVR 2006
Cracow IFF 2006 (Grand Prix GOLDEN DRAGON)
Karlovy Vary IFF 2006
La Rochelle IFF 2006
Jerusalem IFF 2006 (Award for Best Documentary based on archival material)
Yerewan IFF GOLDEN APRICOT 2006
Message to Man St. Petersburg 2006
Onda Curta at IndieLisboa 2006 (Special Mention for the Short Film Award)
Viennale 2006
Sheffield IDFF 2006
Leipzig DOK 2006
Santiago de Chile IFF 2006
Bratislava IFF 2006
Mar del Plata IFF 2007
Thessaloniki IDF 2007
Chicago IDF 2007 (Arie & Bozena Zweig Innovation Award)
Sydney IFF 2007
Festival dei Popoli Florence 2007
Auckland Wellington IFF 2008
Brasília IFF 2008
San Sebastian IFF 2010
IDFA Amsterdam 2010
Alpe Adria Cinema Trieste 2011
Thessaloniki IDF 2011
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria FF 2012
GoEast FF Wiesbaden 2012
DocsBuenos Aires FF 2012
Sao Paulo IFF 2012
Taiwan IDF 2012
Planete Doc Review IDF Warsaw 2013
Astra FF Sibiu 2014
FICUNAM FF Mexico 2015
Crossing Europe FF Linz 2015
Ljubljana IDF 2016
Santiago de Compostela Short FF 2016
Thessaloniki IDF 2017
Krakow IFF 2018