Soviet Barbara: The Story of Ragnar Kjartansson in Moscow
Dir. Gaukur Úlfarsson | Iceland | 2023
An art performance held by an Icelandic artist in the center of Moscow turns into a political thriller. A chronicle of probably the last full-fledged cultural dialogue between Russia and the West, which was cut short by the invasion of Ukraine
90 min.
Documentary
13 November ONLINE. From 00:00 to 23:59
Soviet Barbara: The Story of Ragnar Kjartansson in Moscow
Dir. Gaukur Úlfarsson | Iceland | 2023
An art performance held by an Icelandic artist in the center of Moscow turns into a political thriller. A chronicle of probably the last full-fledged cultural dialogue between Russia and the West, which was cut short by the invasion of Ukraine
13 November ONLINE. From 00:00 to 23:59
90 min.
Documentary
In 1992, just two weeks after the collapse of the USSR, Russian television began airing the American soap opera Santa Barbara, which became the first major window into Western life for millions of post-Soviet citizens. Thirty years later, director Gaukur Úlfarsson travels to Moscow to observe the preparation of a new work by metamodernist Ragnar Kjartansson, one of Iceland’s most well-known contemporary artists. Over the course of 100 days, he plans to stage the first 100 episodes of the series as a theatrical production with local actors—even the creators of Santa Barbara, Jerome and Bridget Dobson, are set to participate in the project. The conceptual performance, which the artist himself calls a “living sculpture,” is set to take place at the new GES-2 House of Culture, located just a few hundred meters from the Kremlin and opened under the patronage of oligarch Leonid Mikhelson. “Am I just a pawn in the whitewashing of Russia’s reputation?” Kjartansson rhetorically asks, while still trying to adhere to the principles of free art. However, news of the migrant crisis on the Belarus-Poland border and the early signs of Russia’s imminent invasion of Ukraine each day add more and more ethical dilemmas.
About the film
Original language: English, Russian, Icelandic
Subtitles: Belarusian | English
In 1992, just two weeks after the collapse of the USSR, Russian television began airing the American soap opera Santa Barbara, which became the first major window into Western life for millions of post-Soviet citizens. Thirty years later, director Gaukur Úlfarsson travels to Moscow to observe the preparation of a new work by metamodernist Ragnar Kjartansson, one of Iceland’s most well-known contemporary artists. Over the course of 100 days, he plans to stage the first 100 episodes of the series as a theatrical production with local actors—even the creators of Santa Barbara, Jerome and Bridget Dobson, are set to participate in the project. The conceptual performance, which the artist himself calls a “living sculpture,” is set to take place at the new GES-2 House of Culture, located just a few hundred meters from the Kremlin and opened under the patronage of oligarch Leonid Mikhelson. “Am I just a pawn in the whitewashing of Russia’s reputation?” Kjartansson rhetorically asks, while still trying to adhere to the principles of free art. However, news of the migrant crisis on the Belarus-Poland border and the early signs of Russia’s imminent invasion of Ukraine each day add more and more ethical dilemmas.