BLESS YOU!
Against the backdrop of Saint Petersburg’s back courtyards during the Corona lockdown, Tatiana Chistova fuses recordings of the almost empty city and calls to a municipal hotline tasked with offering help and advice, but topics range from the banal to existential questions.
Elderly people in particular are affected by poverty, hunger and loneliness.
Chistova highlights that in a system that neglects its weakest members, the virus is not the only threat.
| Category | Short film |
| Original title | Zdrastvuyte! |
| Director | Tatiana Chistova |
| Production | Impakt Film, Maciek Hamela |
| Country | Poland |
| Format | HD, DCP |
| Runtime | 30:28 min |
| Year | 2020 |
| Language | Russian |
| Subtitles | English |
| Genre | Documentary |
Festivals
- DOK Leipzig, Germany, 2020 (World Premiere)
- "Ilim Best Documentary Film Award & Student Jury Award", Message to Man, Russia (2020)
- Nomination for Best Documentary Film, Russian Guild of Film Critics (2020)
- "Best Short Film", Doc Alliance Award (2021)
- "Best Documentary Short Film Award", Santa Cruz IFF, Argentina (2021)
- Durban International Film Festival, South Africa (2021)
- Doker International Documentary Film Festival, Russia (2021)
Quotes & Other
- The first ever Doc Alliance Award – Best Short Film went to Bless You! (Zdrastvuyte!), directed by Tatiana Chistova and nominated by Millennium Docs Against Gravity. (...) The jury stated that Bless You! “captures the feeling of anxiety, isolation, boredom and confusion in the pandemic and finds a very simple, but powerful and honest way to do it.”
