How I Became a Besermyan

A small town in Siberia is quarantined for several months. People are dying of a mysterious illness, the source of which lies hidden in the water. The survivors hide in their apartments, but the contaminated water flows through their homes. Self-defence groups and despondent loners hunting their own kind roam through the empty streets. In an attempt to save her mother’s life, the heroine ventures out into the unknown, so that she can overcome her fear and attempt to rekindle her relationship with the outside world, which is now humanity’s mortal enemy.

The story of a Moscow based electronic musician Moa Pillar traveling to Nalchik, a small town located at Caucasus in the South of Russia, in order to meet Bulat Khalilov, a local music enthusiast who has started a field recording label that documents traditional Circassian music. Bulat connects Moa Pillar to the local music community, so that Moa can collaborate with folk musicians who represent the tradition deeply rooted in the history of the country and its inner struggles. The collaboration experiment reveals a clash between century-old traditions and modern culture of millennials and makes both heroes doubt the possibility of a dialogue between two worlds they represent.