Far, far away

“In a kingdom far, far away, in a land three times ten realms beyond…” is the familiar opening line of Russian folk tales, known to us from childhood. There is certainly no shortage of folklore on our screens today. The MIFF program “Far, Far Away” is not about “the glorious Tsar Dodon”, not about “the hut on chicken legs”, not about “the pike’s behest”. It is about mysteries, adventures, legends and secrets of space and time that surround us.

The heroes of our “far away kingdom” want to run away from the routine of everyday life (successfully or not) either by their own will or by chance. They are all time on the move: walking, travelling or simply dreaming; they end up in strange places, such as the bottom of a river, a dense forest; they drown, escape from fires and overcome obstacles. They naturally discover new qualities within themselves: determination, courage, wit, bravery.

They change themselves after going through many hardships, which, of course, bring them closer to fairy tale heroes and link with Russian folklore. So the title of our program is fully justified.

The means of transport for “far, far away” journeys can be quite unexpected and even exotic as in “If You Go Towards It For a Long Time” by Alexei Trotsenko. For instance, inflatable tires on which a father and his son together with the father’s friend use to travel along a riverbed near the village of Isttsy where they spend every summer. But this particular summer disrupts the usual order of things and their pleasant trip turns into a disaster. But “if you go towards it for a long time”, you might even meet… Zakhar Prilepin (the film, in which the author himself appears, is based on his own short story).

And so on. In short, it will be interesting. Do go and watch.

Evgenia Tirdatova