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    • NTC Award Ceremony
      New Talent Competition gives young filmmakers from Central, Eastern and Southern Europe the opportunity to present their outstanding debut or second film to the public. Join us on Sunday 1 December at 19h
    • Music at ENFF
      The Eastern Neighbours Film Festival welcomes special musical guests each year to enrich our program. For this 16th edition, we’re thrilled to present two talented young musicians: guitarist Antonio Peršak (CR) and violinist İdil Yunkuş (TR). Together, they will perform a traditional Balkan dance and folk song, highlighting the beauty of this music through the… Read more: Music at ENFF
    • Masterclass with Janez Burger
      This masterclass presents a unique opportunity to explore Burger's distinct storytelling style, genre use, and exploration of contemporary social issues. Join us on Saturday 30 November at 17h - Room 5
    • Panel Discussion: Exploration of individual and collective memory in cinema
      Panel Discussion: Exploration of individual and collective memory in cinema on Friday 29 November at 18h

The Soviet Garden

DirectorDragos Turea
ProducerParmis Film Studio – Dragos Turea, Rova Film – Mariana Crisan
WriterDragos Turea, Marian Crisan
CameraIon Bors
EditorVadim Severin
MusicCristian Lolea
Original TitleGRADINA SOVIETICA
Year2019
Length76 min
CountryRomania, Moldova
SubtitlesEnglish
SectionDOCUMENTARIES OPEN DEBATES

The focus of this engaging investigative documentary is the shocking truth about the well-hidden experiments of the Soviet government, in which an atomic garden was created in Moldova that would supply all Soviet States with amazingly huge crops of various vegetables.
The film will be introduced by Otto Boele, senior lecturer on Russian cinema at Leiden University. He will also moderate the Live Talk / Masterclass with the director Dragos Turea on November 11 via Zoom. Dutch Premiere.

Synopsis

Stimulated by his grandmother’s lethal illness and her memories on some mysterious agricultural experiments in the past, Moldavian filmmaker Dragos decides to investigate why cancer rate has increased in his home country lately and whether there is some connection between the fatal statistics and these secret scientific endeavours. This very personal documentary digs into rare found footage in order to portray the industrial shock imposed on Moldova by the Soviet State, while unveiling the secret plan of Nikita Khrushchev to transform Moldova into the Soviet Garden through the application of atomic energy in agriculture.