Euphoria: Boundless Shots of the Russian Steppe

The motifs of love and jealousy that intoxicate the Slavonic soul and evoke the world of the Russian literary classics, the smooth shots of loneliness in the steppe and passionate music seethe through into the foreground. The concise first feature by Ivan Viripaiev functions as the sum of content, image and sound. “Ivan does not create as an actor, director or scriptwriter but as a human being”, explained his producers Alexander Shein and Giya Lordkipanidze at the Q&A after the screening. 

“After the film crisis in the 1990s this project of the younger Russian film generation succeeds a circle of filmmakers going back several generations. It is a product of enthusiasm and inspiration and not self-interest. Nonetheless, and maybe because of that, it has been well received as well as financially successful in Russia, as well as elsewhere in Europe,” explained the guests. The story about the Russian character, lacking the temporal confines and lost in the immense vastness of the steppes, where leaves of grass, a frightened wife and sounds of an accordion all speak the same language has also convinced the Slovenian audiences. It will be screened again on13 and 17 November.