Shadows of the Empire

Poland2018documentary76'Konkurs polski (2019)

On the frontiers of the former Soviet Empire there are conflicts that the world public opinion forgot about a long time ago. People living there wish for one thing only: a peaceful life. It is a common denominator for Alexei, Timur and Alexander's stories, even though their homelands are miles away from one another. Nagorno-Karabakh, Ukraine and Georgia are consecutive arenas of Russia's aggressive politics. The state under Vladimir Putin's rule may no longer have the status of an empire, yet it continues its efforts to make its neighbours more dependent on Russia and maintain the former sphere of influence.

directed by
Karol Starnawski, portret reżysera
Karol Starnawski

Director of documentary films. Graduate of directing at the PWSFTviT in Lodz. For the past two years, he has been a doctoral student and lecturer cooperating with the Lodz Film School. Participant and winner of film festivals in Poland and Europe. The premiere screening of his documentary feature debut "Shadows of the Empire" took place at the 59th Krakow Film Festival, and won the audience award at the "Man in Danger" festival in Lodz. In 2022, the feature script "Two Mothers" co-authored by Starnawski won the main prize in the "Script Pro" competition (together with Anna Dembowska). "Grandfather's Orchard" is the second feature-length documentary film in the director's oeuvre.

cinematography
Filip Drożdż
script
Tomasz Grzywaczewski, Dawid Wildstein
music
Michał Drabczyk
sound
Piotr Domaradzki, Grzegorz Różycki
editing
Paweł Kowalik
production
Filip Bajon, Dariusz Sidor (Studio Filmowe Kadr)
Photo
Kadr z filmu Shadows of the Empire
Trailer