Artdocfest. ‘The Chechen Family’

A poetic documentary about the spirit and traditions of Chechnya

Russia's Artdocfest documentary film festival will take place next month with screenings in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Vitaly Mansky, the festival's president, recently spoke to Meduza about one of this year's films in competition, "The Chechen Family" (Argentina, 2015), directed by Martín Solá. This is what he had to say.

It so happens that there are three films in competition this year that are connected to Chechnya in some way. This picture by an Argentinian director was also filmed in Chechnya, but unlike the other films it doesn't tell any particular story. It doesn't tell the story of some Chechen man sent to fight in Ukraine, and it doesn't tell the story of Chechen human rights workers. What the film does is capture the character of Chechnya, the spirit of Chechnya, its traditions, and its energy. It does this with such eerie success that people experience a certain shock when watching the film, which has been quite popular with audiences around the world.

This really is the kind of movie that I would sooner categorize as a poetic documentary because there's no poster and no dramaturgy here. You're just offered a sip of air, and it not only intoxicates you, but it cuts off your breath. "Salamanca" (Russia, 2015) and "The Chechen Family" are perhaps the most imaginative films at the 2015 Artdocfest. They are the most artistic art films this year.