Eclipse of the Soul
Sielunpimennys
The immense Rybinsk reservoir on the upper reaches of the Volga in central Russia was built by Stalin in 1939. Construction led to a catastrophe in which people, animals and nature were severely affected, and cultural history obliterated. The film is both a realistic yet allegorical story about terror and victims, hopelessness and hope, history and memory. It also alludes to the old Russian legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh which lies somewhere at the bottom of a lake. In calm weather one can hear its church bells ring.