Leningrad Documentary Film Studio

The heroic romance of the profession is in the story about the life of test pilot Yuri Garnaev, who tragically died with his crew while extinguishing forest fires in France in 1967.

A rare documentary that shows how Soviet war propaganda presented the events of the Finnish front in 1941–1944. The main emphasis is on the resolution of the war. The film contains plenty of unique footage of the final stages of the Continuation War.

In January 1989 the first Message to Man International Film Festival took place in Leningrad. This film, made during the festival, is a record of its events, guests and participants, such as the American director Leo Hurwitz, the Latvian director Ivars Seleckis, and the ballerina Natalya Makarova, among others. It also shows the “engine room” of the festival: the work of the main office and the PROKKa professional cinematographers’ club, guests being greeted and seen off. A charity evening with Natalya Makarova, a memorial service to commemorate the victims of the war and excerpts of documentary films presented at the festival are also featured.

The film Our Friend Maxim is devoted to the life and work of actor and National Artist of the USSR Boris Petrovich Chirkov. This film includes excerpts from his Maxim trilogy, and significant focus is placed on Chirkov’s role as a pedagogue and mentor to young actors.

A 1988 documentary film directed by Alexander Sokurov, about the later life and death of Soviet Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky. The film was originally intended to mark the 50th birthday of Tarkovsky in 1982, which would have been before his death. Controversy with Soviet authorities about the film's style and content led to significant delays in the production.

The film tells about the social activities of the world chess champion Anatoliy Karpov, his scientific work and hobbies, about the preparation for the 1981 World Cup. A dream of any chess spectator and greetings from 1980 to modern attempts to introduce elements of the show into the organization of super tournaments.

The film is based on the concert of "Pop Mechanics" under the direction of Sergey Kuryokhin.

The life and work of the great Russian composer Dmitriy Shostakovich is presented in this documentary through rare images and audios from many archives, at one time censored by the Soviet government. A brief take on his life, from his transition as an early prodigy to a first rate artist, his celebrated compositions and the final years with a declining health.

Documentary — featuring both interviews and live footage — about underground rock music in Russia, during the last years of the Perestroika.

Made up of footage of a protest manifestation of mothers whose children had been summoned to serve in Soviet military forces and sent to the zones of Transcaucasian conflicts.

About how the operation to rescue the members of the expedition 'North Pole-1' under the leadership of Ivan Papanin took place.

A requiem for a Russian peasant woman, Maria Semionovna Voinova. The film is in two chapters. The first chapter consists of an impression of Maria Semionovna, scenes of the colours of summer time: hay–making, bathing in a river, work in the flax fields and a holiday in the Crimea. The second chapter, set nine years later, is in black and white and deals with how Maria Semionovna's life ended. The mood is one of a sad and elegiac narration.

The time of action is the beginning of perestroika. A young girl, an employee of the LOMO association, an incorrigible idealist, endures a serious unequal struggle with the plant management for the ideals in which she recklessly believes. She is sent to a psychiatric hospital, they say that her “straightforward character” is a disease, that she has “truth-seeking syndrome.”

The equipment is in a dark room, the lights are flashing. The hand turns the adjustment knob. The sun shines through the arched openings of the palace windows, "Aquarium" music sounds behind the scenes.

The documentary concert consists of performances by Soviet pop performers such as Annie Veski, Alexander Gradsky, Nani Bregvadze, and others.

A documentary about the Soviet Union history, "Aquarium" music sounds behind the scenes.

Alisa Freyndlikh in a rush — there isn't a single calm, free minute. Rehearsals, discussions of roles with Igor Vladimirov, her daughter Varya's birthday, daytime and evening performances, meetings with the audience...