Synopsis

In 1934, Professor Vangengheim is condemned to the Gulag on the Solovki. As he pretends to be on a grand voyage of exploration, he crafts imaginative tales in letters to his daughter Eleonora, shielding her from the truth of his sentencing as a ‘traitor to the motherland’.

Alexey Evstigneev

Alexey Evstigneev was born and brought up in Shatura, Russia. He graduated in Documentary Filmmaking from The Russian State University of Cinematography (VGIK) and Jiri Barta’s animation atelier at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Czech Republic. His graduation documentary film Golden Buttons premiered at Vision du Réel and won the IDFA Talent Award, before being selected and awarded at numerous festivals around the world. Alexey also took  part in the CEE Animation Forum, Euro Connection, IDFA Talent Campus, Visions du Réel Lab, Talent Campus of the Fajr International Film Festival.