Forest up in the Mountain

In 2017, 100 years after the Bolshevik Revolution, no official event was held in Russia. The central government decided to confine the memory of the Revolution to museums. In this climate of forgetfulness, some scenes detached from reality bring the past to the present. Two young roofers, Nikita and Karl, explore the city, search for historical remains and specific places, climb the roofs. In their wandering they find abandoned buildings and balconies. Katya, an apparently older woman, walks through one of the capital spaces of the revolutionary process: the Champ de Mars, in St. Petersburg. Katya tells about the February Revolution, which ended the Romanov dynasty. It recalls the post-revolutionary period and rescues the figure of one of the most interesting intellectuals and scientists of the time: Aleksandr Bogdanov, author of a utopian science fiction book called Red Star.

This documentary film by Rapoport-Bordenave tattoos on the screen the relationship who Juan Carmona, a larch tree worker in the Andes, has with the generosity of nature. Through his broken voice and the melodies hummed by the leaves stirred by the wind, the film envelops us in a space with no floor or roof, inviting us to float in the out-of-focus memories of his previous life as a shellfish catcher.