Professor Lapin, Fedora and Dr. Voronoff’s ghost

I just found out that Professor Boris Arkadievich Lapin has passed away on April 30.  At 98 years, he was still running the Russian Institute of Medical Primatology (RAMS) in Sochi, as Scientific Director. Boris Arkadievich has been the director of the Primate Research Institute (NIIEPIT) in Sukhum since the 1950’s until 1993, when he … More Professor Lapin, Fedora and Dr. Voronoff’s ghost

“T’s T” to be screened in 23 universities!

So excited Tarzan’s Testicles has been chosen by students across our continent as the only documentary among the 5 films nominated for the European University Film Award! The nominated films will be viewed and discussed in 23 universities in 23 countries and each institution will select its favourite film. In early December, one student representative … More “T’s T” to be screened in 23 universities!

Selected for the European Film Awards

Tarzan’s Testicles is among the 15 documentaries selected for a nomination for this year’s European Film Awards. EFA Members will now vote for five documentary nominations. Based on these nominations, the EFA Members will then elect the ‘European Documentary 2018’ which will be announced during the awards ceremony on 15 December in Seville. For more information … More Selected for the European Film Awards

The October Revolution. In Sarajevo.

“Tarzan’s Testicles” has been screened last night at the Pravo Ljudski Festival in Sarajevo. It was screened after Eisenstein’s “October”, in its beautiful remastered version with Edmund Meisel’s music. A daring and wise programming has put together the Revolution’s avant-garde monumental representation and the ruins of the same Revolution, as seen in Abkhazia 100 years … More The October Revolution. In Sarajevo.

Mothers

“Our female colleagues are away, solving the demographic problem in Abkhazia”. This is one of the sentences I heard very often at the Institute. I was told many of the young women from the staff were on maternal leave. Indeed, the country badly needs to be repopulated. Half of the people vanished or fled during … More Mothers

The Caged Camera

In each film I made, there was (at least) one failed experiment. While making Tarzan’s Testicles, I had this idea of filming from inside the cages, to emulate somehow what monkeys see and look at people from beyond the bars. So we placed the camera for several days inside one of the free cages and we stayed … More The Caged Camera

The Abkhaz Dilemma

I have a collection of Abkhaz visas: tiny colored pieces of paper that are not glued into my passport. These are my tangible proof that I visited a state which doesn’t exist on most of the world’s official maps. As soon as I crossed the border, my phone stopped working. It was impossible to pay … More The Abkhaz Dilemma