BLESS YOU

The city and its talks during the lockdown. As the Covid-19 pandemic takes its death toll in Russia the government imposes a strict round-the-clock curfew on its population of elderly. The drastic measures aim at protecting those who are the most vulnerable but the distress among the people grows rapidly. Millions are stranded in their flats, some without immediate family, access to medication and even food. A municipal helpline is established for those seeking help in this extraordinary situation and this film documents the hundreds of phone calls received each day. These short conversations give a rare insight into the anxieties of those who grew up in Soviet Union and have largely been left to fend for themselves after the fall of communism.

TATIANA CHISTOVA

Russian director and screenwriter, born in Saint Petersburg. She graduated from the Philological Department of the Saint Petersburg University with a master’s degree in 1998. From 2005 to 2010 she studied at the Higher Courses for Film Directors in Moscow. She worked as an assistant director for several production companies until she started making her first films as a director in 2007.

• DOK Leipzig / Germany
• Message to Man / Russia
• Docs Against Gravity / Poland

DOKer 2021 — Short Competition