Sheffield Doc/Fest: Films A-Z

My Perestroika

Director(s):

Robin Hessman

Producer(s):

Robin Hessman, Rachel Wexler
- United States, United Kingdom
- 2010
- 88 min
- HDCAM 1080/23.98p
- Russian with English subtitles

Forty-something Borya has lived in the same Moscow flat all his life, first as a baby and now with his son and wife Lyuba. But little else has remained the same for Borya, who was among the last generation of Iron Curtain children, schooled in a Communist ideology which became anachronistic as soon as they entered adulthood. Now history teachers, he and Lyuba struggle to explain recent history to their bemused students. Director Robin Hessman skilfully interweaves their stories with three of their classmates, whom we are able to watch as children thanks to remarkable home archive. Inevitably, some have fared better in capitalist-driven Moscow than others. “I can’t understand people who are my age who are successful businessmen these days,” muses Ruslan, an unemployed ex-punk star. “I mean, how did it work in their heads? How did they just change gears?” A masterful portrait of the complexities of modern day Russia which eschews stereotypes and overflows with intriguing details.

“The specificity of My Perestroika—from its upbeat score to its footage of the ‘mass healings’ that sprung up after communism's fairytales were exposed—is what makes the film so riveting.” - Slant Magazine

Strands

Official Website:: www.myperestroika.com
Festivals:: Sundance Film Festival 2010, New Directors/New Films 2010, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2010, Hot Docs 2010, Silverdocs 2010
Awards:: Filmmaker Award, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival; Special Jury Award , Silverdocs 2010; Best Documentary , Milwaukee Film Festival