Natascha

This experimental documentary introduces us to 8-year-old Natasha. With innocence and candour, she describes what her younger brother does to annoy her and how she likes dressing up in her prettiest dresses. And this despite the fact that she lives in a rundown settlement in one of the most desolate corners of Russia, and the only furniture in their house with its boarded-up windows are four iron beds, a chest of drawers and a pile of cardboard boxes. In its imaginative visual composition, the film superbly combines the girl’s narrative with black-and-white photographs and poetic, dream-like sequences. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)