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De droom van de beer

Documentary, 2000, 90 min.

The Russian circus is deteriorating. From the twenties, the State Circus was the Soviet Union's great pride. Lenin considered it a chief means of propaganda, so a lot of money was made available for special shows that applauded Soviet successes in industry and space travel. Russia even had a ministry of circus affairs. The performers themselves hardly suffered from the communist regime; travelling across the Soviet Union, they lived in relative freedom. Today, many of the greatest circus performers, like the world-famous clown Oleg Popov, are living abroad. In Russia, the money is finished. Director Cherry Duyns visited Popov and other former stars, like the Kantemirov brothers - Ossetian horsemen that performed in more than fifty films. The interviews are pervaded with nostalgia and Duyns combines them with beautiful archive footage, showing the circus performers as young men.

nominations

  • NL - Netherlands Film Festival Golden Calf

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