Unglaubliche Geschichten aus [Russland] Lettland (4): Der ehemals russische Marinehafen Karosta bei Riga (Lettland)

Film-Nr.: 562
Vorführungstermin: Sonntag, 16. August 2009, 19 Uhr (Hauptfilm) [VN56]
Themenschwerpunkt: Unglaubliche Geschichten aus [Russland] Lettland (4)

Englischer Titel: Karosta
Originaltitel: Karosta
Deutscher Titel: Karosta
Herkunft: UK 2008
Laufzeit: 50 min.
Sprachfassung: Englisch-Lettisch-Russische Originalfassung mit englischen Untertiteln

Regie: Peter King
Produzent: Rowland Kimber
Schnitt: Peter King
Kamera: David Procter
Musik: Richard Canavan
Produktion: Ivory Tower Pictures, London

URL Film-Homepage: http://www.ivorytowerpictures.com/
Premierenstatus: Deutsche Erstaufführung
Bisherige Aufführungen: Raindance Film Festival London, UK; London International Documentary Film Festival, London, UK;



Kurzinhalt: Ein Porträt des Untergangs und des Verfalls der Überbleibsel des Sowjet-Imperiums am Beispiel des ehemaligen Marinehafens Karosta in Lettland, gesehen mit den Augen von Denjenigen, die dies miterleben mussten.

Trailervideo: http://blip.tv/file/2253024 + http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTOrStwQkzY
Teaservideo: http://blip.tv/file/2253018 + http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt14QQYNHUQ

Englische Synopsis: Karosta is a portrait of the demise and fall of the Soviet Empire as seen through the eyes of the people who endured it.



Englische Werkbeschreibung: With the re-emergence of the Russian Federation as a super power, and notably their invasion of Georgia and friendship with both Iran and Venezuela, the abandoned Latvian military port of ‘Karosta’ is a very important reminder of recent history and a vital lesson about the future. Built in the early 1900’s as a purpose made war port, Karosta has seen some of the most influential and disturbing eras of modern times, from Tsarist origins, to NAZI and then Soviet occupation. When the Russian army left Latvia in 1994 after Latvian independence, Karosta became largely uninhabited and most structures fell to ruin. Its population is made up of the people who moved into the empty military apartment blocks, and the Russians who stayed behind after the soviet withdrawal. In late 1990s, the area was troubled by high unemployment, street crime and drug problems, with some remaining residents considered neither Latvian nor Russian and holding 'alien passports.' The remaining townspeople share their lives with mass holocaustic graves and derelict military bunkers, their lives very slowly regaining some kind of normality.



The eclectic architecture in Karosta ranges from underground tunnel networks to Orthodox temples and from Soviet concrete barracks to Tsarist palaces, all of which are in decay. The town has ‘cyberpunk’ dystopic characteristics mixed with an unprecedented amount of individual freedom. The end of authoritarian legacy has released the town into an anarchic autonomy, with the town’s population reducing from 30,000 people to only 7,000. Surrounded by the mise-en-scene of a totalitarian regime, the Karostan people lead a life free from governmental laws and regulations. People in western civilisation only see this vision as something of fiction, but in reality this exists, and the truth is much more intriguing. This documentary explores how society copes without infrastructure and order, and how respect for one another goes a long way in allowing people living harmoniously within such a chaotic existence. Added to the mix are a group of artists, known as K@2, who took it upon themselves to attempt to restore order to the town through creativity and opportunity by organising events that bring the inhabitants together, and leading regeneration projects within the town. They also use the free reign they have within the town to explore their creative freedom, expressing themselves visually throughout the abandoned concrete housing blocks. Karosta is somewhere that has been long forgotten, and at such a pivotal moment in the modern world’s development, now is the most vital time to unearth such an important part of history, as our power driven world is soon heading back to the state it was in when Karosta was conceived.

GLOBIANS DOC FEST BERLIN
August 12 - 17, 2009
Kino Toni, Antonplatz