ADMISSION:
Admission is free. Reservations required. RSVP at links below.

All attendees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or to have had a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of the start of this event. Verification must be provided at the event check-in. Face masks will be required for all attendees, vaccinated or unvaccinated. Masks should be worn at all times when individuals are not actively consuming food or beverage. Additionally, all guests must complete the Trojan Check health screening on the day of their visit to campus. Trojan Check verification must be presented at the event check-in.

DESCRIPTION:
On the 30th anniversary of the fall of the USSR, this three-day program will provide a front-row seat to history, featuring films from various countries and filmmakers, scholars, activists, and other international thought leaders participating in discussions about life and filmmaking in the post-Soviet world.

The large-scale shifts in society that resulted from the dissolution of the Soviet Union will be represented and interpreted through feature, documentary, and short films. Such artistic responses to this pivotal political moment pose fundamental human questions, tackling the effects of displacement—physical, ideological, psychological, economic, spiritual—amidst the difficulty of interpreting arbitrary and constantly shifting borders. As the remnants of a fallen empire deal with the lingering effects of war, ethnic conflict, economic collapse, and new world orders, human dramas emerge as we come to terms with history, identity, community, and hope.

Schedule:

Thursday, November 4, 2021, from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Ray Stark Family Theatre, SCA 108
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7 p.m.: The Event (Russia, 2015. Directed by Sergei Loznitsa. Running Time: 74 min.)
The found-footage epic about the failed coup of August 1991 that signaled the fall of the Soviet Union will be followed by a virtual panel discussion with the documentary’s director Sergei Loznitsa, critically acclaimed filmmaker and scholar Atom Egoyan, and Dr. Robert English, professor of international relations, Slavic languages, and literature at USC.

Friday, November 5, 2021, from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Norris Cinema Theatre
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6 p.m. to 7 p.m.: Reception
7 p.m.: Should the Wind Drop (Armenia/France/Belgium, 2020. Directed by Nora Martirosyan. Running Time: 100 min.)
The bold drama, which screened at Cannes and as been selected as the Armenian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards, will be followed by a panel discussion with director Nora Martirosyan; Dr. Nancy Condee, professor of Russian culture, cinema, and cultural politics at the University of Pittsburgh; and Susanna Harutyunyan, president of Armenia’s Association of Film Critics and Cinema Journalists and the Artistic Director of Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival.

Saturday, November 6, 2021, from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Norris Cinema Theatre
RSVP

1 p.m.: At the Ends of the Earth (Russia, 1999. Directed by Konstantin Bronzit. Running Time: 7 min.)
1:10 p.m.: And Then We Danced (Georgia/Sweden, 2019. Directed by Levan Akin. Running Time: 105 min.) Followed by a conversation with the director.
3:25 p.m.: Last Chance for Justice (Kyrgyzstan/Moldova, 2021. Directed by Marina Shupac. Running Time: 23 min.) Introduced by USC professor Steve Swerdlow and followed by a conversation with the director.
4:45 p.m.: Leviathan (Russia, 2014. Directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev. Running Time: 140 min.)
Following fantastic animation, dramatic romance, gripping documentary, and epic satire, a wide-ranging panel discussion will feature Dr. Aniko Imre, professor of cinema & media studies at USC ; Dr. Nancy Condee, professor of Russian culture, cinema, and cultural politics at the University of Pittsburgh; Susanna Harutyunyan, co-founder and artistic director of the Golden Apricot International Film Festival; Dr. Thomas Seifried, professor of Slavic languages and literature at USC; and Dr. Shushan Karapetian, deputy director of the USC Institute of Armenian Studies.

8 p.m.: JAZZ: Fool Around (Armenia, 2019. Directed by David Babayan. Running Time: 7 min.)
8:15 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Reception
The short animated comedy will be followed by a reception in Queen’s Courtyard featuring a jazz performance by USC Thornton School of Music students.

Related events will include two days of screenings at the USC Tacori Center in Mayakovski, Armenia, on the outskirts of Yerevan, in August 2021 and a workshop for USC students in spring 2022. Please check back for more information.

Presented by USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative. Organized by the USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies and USC Department of Slavic Languages and Literature. Co-sponsored by the USC School of Cinematic Arts, USC School of International Relations, and USC Armenian Students Association.

Photo: Gagik Harutyunyan, April 13, 1991. Published in his collection Shadows of Time: The Photographic Art of Gagik Harutyunyan 1970-1995 (Yerevan, 2017).