Still With Us

During the Soviet era, there were over 30,000 Lenin monuments in the USSR. They were recommended to be erected in certain places where Ilyich could “see” how his precepts were being fulfilled. In turn, Lenin’s presence had a beneficial effect on the surrounding area. Temporary portals of sorts appeared near the monuments, leading to the communist future: flowerbeds were laid out, flags were placed, blue spruces were planted. What does Lenin see today? And what do these “islands of the future” look like now? How do the descendants of the builders of communism feel about Lenin? A film of 10 short stories, filmed in different parts of Russia.

• Aleksey HanyutinDirector