DETOURS
обходные пути
2021 / 73 min / DCP 2k
16mm + digital, color, Russian language
Russia / Netherlands
Director, writer, producer – Ekaterina Selenkina
Producer – Vladimir Nadein
Co-producer – Rogier Kramer, Dutch Mountain Film
Cinematographer – Alexey Kurbatov
Post-production producer – Varvara Babieva
обходные пути
2021 / 73 min / DCP 2k
16mm + digital, color, Russian language
Russia / Netherlands
Director, writer, producer – Ekaterina Selenkina
Producer – Vladimir Nadein
Co-producer – Rogier Kramer, Dutch Mountain Film
Cinematographer – Alexey Kurbatov
Post-production producer – Varvara Babieva
A sprawling meditation on the choreography of bodies in Moscow's urban landscape, Detours depicts a new way of dealing illicit drugs via the Darknet, the layering of the physical and the virtual realities, as well as a poetics, and politics, of space.
Sleepy neighbourhoods, abandoned railroads, concrete walls of high-rises, lush greenery of overlooked yards. А sustained engagement with locations that are usually peripheral or intermediary. At first, the city is experienced through the routines of a young treasureman, whose job is to anonymously hide stashes of drugs in locations across Moscow, sending online clients on 'quests' to pick them up. The landscapes are seen as a series of potential drop-off sites. Anonymous figures inhabit the space, moving through it with unknown purpose. The landscape is marked with the constant presence of police force. The various speeds, affects and actors build up to suggest a city-wide network of bodies. Eventually, the treasureman's story dissolves into other inhabitants and routines.
Utilizing reenactment, observational footage and fiction, the film explores the connections between the Darkweb and the anonymity of the city, between oppression and resistance. It draws the complex urban ecosystem, mapping the multiple routes of meanings a city holds.
Sleepy neighbourhoods, abandoned railroads, concrete walls of high-rises, lush greenery of overlooked yards. А sustained engagement with locations that are usually peripheral or intermediary. At first, the city is experienced through the routines of a young treasureman, whose job is to anonymously hide stashes of drugs in locations across Moscow, sending online clients on 'quests' to pick them up. The landscapes are seen as a series of potential drop-off sites. Anonymous figures inhabit the space, moving through it with unknown purpose. The landscape is marked with the constant presence of police force. The various speeds, affects and actors build up to suggest a city-wide network of bodies. Eventually, the treasureman's story dissolves into other inhabitants and routines.
Utilizing reenactment, observational footage and fiction, the film explores the connections between the Darkweb and the anonymity of the city, between oppression and resistance. It draws the complex urban ecosystem, mapping the multiple routes of meanings a city holds.
Venice International Film Critics' Week (World premiere) – Best directing among women under 40 Award | dedicated to the director Valentina Pedicini
Garage Museum of Contemporary Art (Russian premiere)
New Holland Island International Debut Film Festival (Saint Petersburg premiere) – Best Russian Film Award
Viennale (Austrian premiere)
Thessaloniki International Film Festival (Greek premiere)
Berlin Critics' Week (German premiere)
FICUNAM (Mexican premiere)
Barbican (English premiere)
Jeonju International Film Festival (South Korean premiere)
IndieLisboa (Portuguese premiere)
Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin (French premiere)
Beldocs (Serbian premiere)
FILMADRID (Spanish premiere) – Best Film Award
Marienbad Film Festival (Czech premiere)
UNDERDOX, Munich
Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute (Taiwan premiere)
Film and Architecture Festival, Centre for Architecture and Metropolitan Planning, Prague
Schaubuеhne Lindenfells, Leipzig
Theatre Massimo, Torino
Venezia a Napoli. Il cinema esteso
Garage Museum of Contemporary Art (Russian premiere)
New Holland Island International Debut Film Festival (Saint Petersburg premiere) – Best Russian Film Award
Viennale (Austrian premiere)
Thessaloniki International Film Festival (Greek premiere)
Berlin Critics' Week (German premiere)
FICUNAM (Mexican premiere)
Barbican (English premiere)
Jeonju International Film Festival (South Korean premiere)
IndieLisboa (Portuguese premiere)
Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin (French premiere)
Beldocs (Serbian premiere)
FILMADRID (Spanish premiere) – Best Film Award
Marienbad Film Festival (Czech premiere)
UNDERDOX, Munich
Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute (Taiwan premiere)
Film and Architecture Festival, Centre for Architecture and Metropolitan Planning, Prague
Schaubuеhne Lindenfells, Leipzig
Theatre Massimo, Torino
Venezia a Napoli. Il cinema esteso