

In the late 80s, a team of Ukrainian filmmakers went on several assignments to film the most remote corners of Siberia. The footage from these expeditions has been forgotten until being discovered in Kyiv in 2022. Oleksiy Radynski used these images of the gorgeous and mesmerising Baikal mountains, animals and forests, to reveal an overlooked history of shameless exhaustion of natural sources and endless oppression of indigenous people.
While promoting itself as a champion of cultural and political independence for the earth’s oppressed, the Soviet Union opressed the indigenous people living in the vast steppes of Siberia just as brutally as the Tsarist Russia did. The calming deserted landscapes present a testimony to the erased history of numerous imperialistic wars waged by Russia against its later colonies.
Where Russia Ends (Там, де закінчується Росія) takes its title from a line in speeches of Vladimir Putin, who often stated that ‘The borders of Russia do not end’. Starting from the valuable archival discovery this film becomes an essay on Russian imperialism and its continuity to present day.
After the Dutch premiere at IFFR, the filmmakers Oleksiy Radynski and Lyuba Knorozok join us for a longer Q&A session on this finely crafted filmmaking effort and the topics it touches upon.
About the speakers
Oleksiy Radynski is a Ukrainian filmmaker and writer based in Kyiv, who experiments with documentary forms and practices of political cinema. His films have been screened at film festivals and in exhibitions worldwide, including International Film Festival Rotterdam, Oberhausen International Short Film Festival, the Institute of Contemporary Arts (London), e-flux (New York), Docudays (Kyiv), Sheffield Doc Fest, Krakow IFF, DOK Leipzig etc. He received multiple awards, including the Grand Prix at the Oberhausen International Short Film Festival for Chornobyl 22.
Lyuba Knorozok is a Ukrainian producer of documentary and feature films. Her movies were selected for a wide range of festivals, including Cannes FF, Berlinale, DOK Leipzig, Internationale Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen, Nowe Horyzonty IFF and received awards at Cannes, Docudays UA, Molodist IFF, Kyiv ISFF. She produced projects for BBC World News, European Cultural Foundation, The Hromadske TV network, Al Jazeera English, Vice News and others.
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