Is it better to acknowledge the almost unpalatable truth, or to embrace the comfort of a myth? From September 1941 until January 1944, Leningrad was sieged and blockaded by the German army. For 900 days, the nearly three million inhabitants were trapped inside the city like rats. In subzero temperatures people had to eat glue, leather soles, cats, and sometimes even their fellow human beings. After 900 days, alsmost a million people had died. All this took place in a country where propaganda was more important than truth. For decades afterwards the survivors were forbidden to speak about what had happened to them so that the heroic myth of the “land of victors” would not be undermined. And now, with Putin in power, the myth is being revived. What starts as a film about personal testimonies of the blockade of Leningrad gradually turns into an epic story about how censorship, propaganda and fear get a grip on the memories of the main characters. A struggle that is still ongoing today.
Independent filmmaker focusing on post-soviet Russia. She directed, produced and shot several documentaries among which ‘Piter’, ‘No Goods Today’ and ‘Ferryman across the Volga’ (prix de RTBF). For the theatre play ‘Quarantaine’ she made a series of portraits of survivors of the siege of Leningrad.
Her films have been shown at many different film festivals and broadcasted in various different countries. She also directed tv-programs for Dutch television (Human, VPRO) and worked as an editor for various documentaries. Her documentary ‘900 Days’ (2011), was awarded best Dutch film at IDFA 2011.