Joseph Matthews
Exchange Student: Olga Korotkaya

Film: Caught in the Mist
2009 | 24 mins | Russia

My grandparent's political and social outlook was always informed by their Communist beliefs. After visiting my grandmother in Glasgow in the summer of 2008 I travelled to Moscow full of questions about how the Russian version of a socialist society had operated.

With Communism so closely tied to the Russian identity, I was interested to see where it was that the two elements were still colliding and where, they have become detached.

Crew
Director/Camera Joseph Matthews | Editor Esben B.W. Askgaard | Sound Design Jussi Honka
Assistant Producers Anastasia Posnova & Mukharam Kabulova

Festival Screenings:
Sheffield International Documentary Festival, UK

Joseph's experience in Moscow
The journey to Moscow was much shorter than I expected. For some reason I thought of the Russian capital being situated in a far off land, much farther than just 3 ½ hours on a plane. Perhaps it is the years of western hostility towards Russia that has given me an impression of a place far removed from my own society. What I found there was a triumphant mixture of my own preconceptions about Moscow and it's inhabitants. The old dog sleeping in the corridor, the metro that looks like a museum piece, babushkas serving in every canteen, the towering architecture of the seven sisters and the various architectural reminders of a city that represented the heart of the Soviet Union. The fading examples of a communist past in the VDNHA Park now feel acutely nostalgic. An Aeroflot jet sits next to the first sputnik rocket and a statue of Lenin is overshadowed by a fun fair blaring out euro pop. This is the Moscow I am looking for, remnants of the past coming into conflict with elements of modern society. This is of course more visible to a travellers eye, but Moscow certainly feels like a place where social stability has transformed into something much more chaotic. Moscow's transport system seems to be an example of this; the traffic grinds to a halt above ground as the people crush together on what must be one of the worlds grandest metro systems. We seem to have arrived in Moscow just after the party has finished and now the hangover is kicking in. Stories from many of the people we came across in Moscow illustrate just how immediate the effect the economic downturn is having on jobs and businesses. This might be the headline news of the moment, but I sense a resilience in the Russian people that nothing can really surprise them. Throughout my journey I was rarely far from the ritual of eating smoked fish and rye bread washed down with vodka. Although characterised as having a gruff exterior, I always found the welcome I would receive completely honest and warm.