Fantasy & Sci-Fi in Soviet & Post-Soviet Cinema

The fantasy and sci-fi film genres gave filmmakers relative freedom against the backdrop of censorship and enabled them to outwit authorities in the Soviet Union. In such films, directors reevaluated the social norms of Soviet culture, showing the discrepancy between the decreed norm and its contrary. Students will watch films (by Tarkovsky, Parajanov, and Bortko among others) that are mainly based on literary works, including those by Olesha, Bulgakov, and Lermontov. Films will be discussed in the context of Soviet and Russian culture from ideological and aesthetic points of view. The course will feature two film screenings weekly. Students will also read literary texts, reviews, and criticism. Counts as a course in culture and civilization.