Chronique d'une petite ville russe en hiver
Christophe de Ponfilly
2000 - 56 min - Beta numérique - Couleur - France

During the summer of 1992, Christophe de Ponfilly was filming everyday life in Kirjatch, 100 kilometres north-west of Moscow, a town like so many others in the immensity of Russia.
The contemporary vision of Russian society is often reduced to its Mafiosi, its corrupt politicians, and its drunken violence.
The filmmaker decided to return to the location. This time it was winter and hopes were high for the new millennium. A young girl told him the tale of a man who killed women and sold pieces of their bodies on the market ! Why not investigate this tragic news item ? It may prove a good starting point to get handle on this "new Russia" where madness reigns. Little by little, through impressionistic touches, everyday life appears, not as sum of sensational facts, but more simply as this sad reality : survive despite the poverty, try to live, retain ones dignity.
And, in a spirit of defiance, a singer at the local Cultural Centre says : "Christophe, you have shown us the Russian soul, you have filmed our weaknesses to show the world. But what will it change ? The mountain of problems is still here."