Country

What we would call ’tokkies’ or ‘gabbers’, and what elsewhere might be referred to as white trash or hooligans – in Russia, these are called gopniki. Folk culture in a tracksuit.

Russia has strict laws when it comes to drug possession and trafficking. Severe penalties too. So the dealer doesn’t deliver to your house, but a кладмен (kladman) hides the order, which the customer then has to find.

Russia doesn’t have the best reputation when it comes to LGBT rights and acceptance. However, it’s not impossible or illegal to live your life with any orientation there. What is banned (since 2013) is propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships ( Wikipedia).

‘Encounters with Russians from six different generations help us get to know a Russia beyond Moscow and the Kremlin. Away from the 75th Victory Day parade and displays of military might, we meet the people of Russia. They tell us of a nation poised between tradition and the future.’

A tattooed hand or neck, no one is shocked or surprised anymore. Tattoos have become normal. Maybe even boring. It’s a bit different with the face tattoo. Very in your face. Or maybe not (anymore)? About the circles (Russian, of course) where the face tattoo has become normal and about the people who live with it every day.

Short documentary film (11 m) from 2013 about love love love, or Любовь x 3. Love. Love. Love. is about love in all stages of life, from a female perspective. ‘A Sundance-winning short on the many shapes of Russian affection’ (more on IMDb), made with love.

Tattoo artist Herman IX from Moscow ( website, VK) and filmmaker Stepan Vetoshnikov ( Vimeo) travel in two months from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok (over 7000 kilometers), funded by the money Herman earns along the way. Documentary, art, and road movie: it’s all of these combined and never too much.