Taisiya Krugovykh

Pussy Versus Putin

Taisiya Krugovykh, Vasily Bogatov

Mariya Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova

In 2012 two members of anarchistic female band Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in a Mordovian labor camp for "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred". Russian film collective Gogol’s Wives follow each step of the feminist punk band’s battle against Putin including their first disruptive performances on a trolley bus, shooting a video about transparent elections, a controversial performance in a Red Square cathedral, and footage shot in a jail cell. Support comes from many corners including Madonna who painted the words "Pussy Riot" on her back and wore a balaclava during her Moscow show. The documentary portrays the grim state of present-day Russia, a country starkly divided between conservatism and anarchy. Pussy Riot believes that art has to be free and they're willing to take it to extremes. "Pussycat made a mess in the house," they say, and the house is Russia. The filmmakers do not seek to moralize, they simply edit events and leave viewers to draw their own conclusions.

Теория Новой Гениальности

Taisiya Krugovykh

The Atomic Bomb Reflector is a fantastic invention developed by Sergei Kalmykov to convert destructive force into creative energy. The theatre director Rustem Begenov will ask the audience to fall asleep, sing a song of praise to themselves and switch on a Soviet-era light bulb – anything to make Kalmykov’s invention work. What is Rustem preaching, and to what extent is it comprehensible and necessary for mankind today?