The programme for this exceptional evening includes the screening of two films made by filmmakers associated with the Atelier des artistes en exil (Marseille) - A Legend by Daria Yurishcheva, followed by The Light Watching Me While I Watch the North by Vlada Milovskaya and Knyazhna. The directors will be present to accompany the screening, which will be followed by a discussion led by Anastasiia Kleshchenko, programming coordinator at FIDMarseille, before concluding with a convivial drinks reception.
A LEGEND
Daria Yurishcheva
France, 2025, 4’
Inspired by real events, this animated film addresses – without showing it – systemic violence in Russian prisons and the discrimination suffered in particular by religious and ethnic minorities, queer people, and Ukrainians. Through the story of a Muslim prisoner who complained to the prison warden about the destruction of his Koran by the guards, and the reprisals that followed, the film bears witness to the brutality and use of torture that has become commonplace, exacerbated since the war in Ukraine. Film made as part of Masha Godovannaya’s course at Smolny Beyond Borders (Bard College).
THE LIGHT WATCHING ME WHILE I WATCH THE NORTH
Vlada Milovskaya, Knyazhna
Russia, Kazakhstan, 2021, 60’
A homeless shelter, a few minutes before New Year’s Eve; on a television screen, the president talks about good deeds and misfortunes that will eventually pass, as always. The winter cold of Saint Petersburg: three young women wander through its streets, corridors and apartments. Who are they? Where do they come from? The film unfolds like a dream or a vision. The heroines are visible and carnal, but also fleeting and disembodied. Both a filmed diary and a work of fiction, The Light Watching Me While I Watch the North explores the bodies of the directors as a ghost story, where sexuality and gender are fluid and uncertain, mirroring the space that surrounds the characters: haunted, strange and intimately familiar at the same time. This film is homeless, just like most of its characters. They have nothing but their bodies and the city that watches over them. The homeless people of Saint Petersburg become its light.
In partnership with
Artists in Exil Workshop
Since 2023, in partnership with Artist in Exil Workshop, FIDMarseille has been inviting filmmakers in exile to select nine films to compete during the festival, which will be screened in cinemas in Marseille. These screenings are followed by a discussion between the directors and these artists. L’Atelier des artistes en exil’s mission is to identify artists in exile from all backgrounds and disciplines, support them in terms of their situation and their administrative and artistic needs, offer them workspaces and put them in touch with professionals in order to give them the means to test their practice and restructure themselves. The Marseille branch was created in 2021 following the fall of Kabul and now supports 70 artists from around 15 different countries.