Sotsgorod - Anna Abrahams

Year:
1995
Length:
91 minutes

Tagline:
Documentary about the building of socialist cities in Russia.

Logline:
In the Twenties and Thirties the Soviet Union invited Western specialists to co-operate on the design of completely new cities in the Urals and Siberia. These socialist cities were named “sotsgorods”.

Synopsis:
During the Twenties and Thirties the Soviet Union invited Western specialists to co-operate on the design of completely new cities in the Urals and Siberia. These socialist cities, “sotsgorods” for short, had to be constructed at high speed to house the future miners and foundry workers of the Russian hinterland.
Filled with ideas and eager for adventure modern architects such as Mart Stam and Ernst May headed for the future workers’ paradise. Moreover the regime changed, Stalin decided on a return to traditionalism.
A few years later most of them returned. Without photos or drawings and without stories.. What had happened to them? Had they built any cities at all?

Cast:
N/A

Crew:
direction: Anna Abrahams
camera: Jan-Frederik Groot
sound: Paul Enkelaar, Rogier Kappers
editing coach: Rob van Steensel
re-recording mix: Jack Bol
producer: René Scholten

this film is a co-production of Studio Nieuwe Gronden with Stichting Rongwrong

this film is financially supported by:
Nederlands Fonds voor de Film
Tijdelijke Regeling Incidentele Projecten Architectuur van de ministeries van OCW (afdeling Bouwkunst) en VROM
Van Eesteren-Fluck & Van Lohuizen Stichting
Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst
Prins Bernhard Fonds
Rotterdamse Kunststichting