Real Life

State Funeral

2 hr. 15 min. | Documentary, History | Pegi 13

The news of Stalin’s death on March 5, 1953, shocked the entire Soviet Union. The burial ceremony was attended by tens of thousands of mourners. We observe every stage of the funeral spectacle, described by Pravda newspaper as “the Great Farewell”, and receive an unprecedented access to the dramatic and absurd experience of life and death under Stalin’s reign.

Sergei Loznitsa

Sergei Loznitsa

Sergei Loznitsa has been making documentary films since 1996; 19 of them have been awarded at various festivals. Loznitsa’s feature debut My Joy (2010) premiered in the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival. In the Fog (2012) was awarded FIPRESCI prize at the 65th Festival de Cannes. His feature-length documentary Maidan (2014) had its world premiere at a Séance Special of Festival de Cannes, A Gentle Creature (2017) has been presented in Cannes’ main competition and Donbass (2018) received the prize for Best Directing of the Un Certain Regard section of the festival.
Languages
Russian
Subtitles
Lithuanian, English
Original title
Государственные похороны
Produced
2019: Netherlands, Lithuania

Film information

Director
Sergei Loznitsa
Producers
Sergei Loznitsa, Maria Baker-Choustova
Screenplay
Sergei Loznitsa
More information
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