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29 Jan – 8 Feb 2026

Piter

Jessica Gorter | Frank Gorter | Netherlands | 2004 | 80' | | IFFR 2004

In Piter, a title that refers to the nickname given by many in St Petersburg to the city they live in, we follow the everyday life of seven of these inhabitants. Together with them, we find ourselves in the twilight world of revolution and war, the grey Brezhnev years that followed and the high contrast reality of today. While the superficial changes in the city since the beginning of perestroika are the first to strike one, the change from the inside, of the people themselves, have been most fundamental. How much have they been able to shape a new future? In several years time, the inhabitants have had to drastically change their way of life, their ideals, their picture of the world and their opinions. For instance Alexander Ivanov, once a senior party official, now runs a floral empire. Abatoli, previously editor of a local newspaper, now has to survive on charity and collecting empty bottles. The sprightly Elena Yakovlevna (87) still lives in her father’s apartment, which looks just the way it did before the revolution. She is a great fan of Stalin, under whose regime the country was much better off, she thinks. Piter makes up the balance 15 years after perestroika.

Film details

Country of production
Netherlands
Year
2004
Festival edition
IFFR 2004
Length
80"
Medium/Format
Betacam Digi PAL

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