An exploration of key themes in Russian cinema since the collapse of the Soviet Union with a focus on films from 2000-present. We will discuss how films by both emerging and well established directors (ranging from comic to tragic, and from art-house films to Hollywood-style blockbusters) reflect the shifting political and social landscapes of post-Soviet Russia.
Through our discussions of these films, we will engage questions of intergenerational conflict, definitions of masculinity and motherhood, relationships between men and women, and the politics of identity in a rapidly changing post-Soviet space.