The Russian Woodpecker

A gripping journey through seven decades of sexual ignorance, oppression, and suffering, brought to life through the words and experiences of the first Soviet sexologist. Ukrainian survivors of the regime courageously recount the harsh realities they endured, from the pervasive suppression of sexual expression to the rampant exploitation and abuse that plagued Soviet society.

Mariupol is an industrial city on Azov sea. I went there as a young sailor 20 years ago. The places alive in my memory are mostly destroyed. The battle-line of the Russian-Ukrainian war is just nearby the city. In the night I can hear the bombing. However, I am looking for the miracle there.

The first Soviet sexologist is sent to the gulag and is haunted by stories of fellow inmates. They provide unforgettable vignettes of Soviet sexual brutality, from the utopian ideals of the 1920s, to gay life in the 1930s, the rape of women by those in power, and the use of sexpionage to entrap enemies of the State. A visually compelling exploration of how totalitarianism ultimately destroys all forms of human intimacy. Part 1 of the trilogy "Sex in the Soviet Union."

The main exposition of the museum in Avdiivka was dedicated to the Caucasus. In 2015, exposition was partly destroyed due to a Russian projectile. But now in Avdiivka there is again a people's museum - a place where the most wonderful ideas come to life.

A director returns to visit his friend and cinematographer on the front lines.