How do Stalin and the church go together? In the Georgian village of Tsromi, he is standing in front of this typical ecclesiastical structure. It’s true, his aura is flaking, his right hand and his former empire are gone and his eyes roam over the cows and geese on the dusty village street. Then again, people left him alone for half a century. Until the day a convent claims not only the former house of culture but the church and its yard, and, also, that Stalin is to be removed. Emotions are running high; can you expect the nuns to practically share a roof with a man who fought a relentless battle against religion?
Shalva Shengeli highlights a myth in picturesque images and with the absurd humour of Georgian comedies. In the realm of ‘homo sovieticus’, where ‘leaders’ were glorified as religious figures, where pictures of Stalin are put next to icons and the orthodox Church recently published a Stalin calendar. The film looks at how the past is remembered, which can provide access to the present through showing how this history is created. In the meantime, will the patriarch, Stalin, get a new hand to show his people the way.
DAFilms.com is powered by Doc Alliance, a creative partnership of 7 key European documentary film festivals. Our aim is to advance the documentary genre, support its diversity and promote quality creative documentary films.
Please choose one of following payment gates you'd like to pay through:
By clicking this button, you declare that you are over the age of 18 and confirm both your consent to the DAFilms Terms and Conditions and that you have familiarised yourself with the [Principles of Personal Data Processing]. By making a payment, you are also requesting that the selected content be provided to you immediately upon confirmation of your order.
