Four multitalented Russian composers tell the exceptional life story of Lesaserma Pokhunakhis (1926-1991). Pokhunakhis was a Soviet maverick writer and painter of Greek origins. All of her literary works in several genres of prose and poetry compose a single gargantuan book The Brown Soil, no parts of which were published in her lifetime. After the discovery of the writer’s archives, several fragments appeared in academic and literary journals, sparking a public interest in Pokhunakhis’ work. This is the fantastic story of an introvert artist, who knew composer and architect Iannis Xenakis and had a remarkable influence on Marina Abramovic her ‘Balkan Erotic Epic’. Sergey Khismatov, Alexander Khubeev, Alex Nadzharov and Marina Poleukhina are inspired by her lifework, and together create a remarkable, unsettling and fascinating performance about the work of a forgotten woman, in which nothing is what it seems. – Alexander Khubeev, “Industrialization as the First Stage” – Sergey Khismatov, N-Musik – Alexander Khubeev, “Industrialization as the First Stage” part 2: ‘’Taiga. Alienation’’ -Alex Nadzharov, “The Literacy Campaign: Science for People – Marina Poleukhina, “the forest of electrical magnolias”
Special thanks to video artist and researchers Dmitry Mazurov, Vadim Kejin, Yury Kasparov, Fedor Sofronov and Viatcheslav Kuritsyn and the University Archive of Irkutsk.
Co-production: Ultima Festival Oslo, Concertgebouw Brugge, Nadar Ensemble
