Mal de Mer Films

Set in Nizhny Tagil, Russia, Summer journeys nostalgically through the warm middle-Ural summer with eight-year-old Vadim and his half-sister Christina. They enjoy evening festivities with their older teenage friends by the fire, go on mellow skateboard rides, and have a quiet daytime nap in the garden house. Caressed by the sun and the warmth of his relatives, hidden in the quiet tranquillity of the garden and far away from the cruelty of the outside world, Vadim enjoys his childhood days. Acting as a serene lullaby that mimics the movements of a gentle breeze, Summer provides warmth, joy and solace, offering hope and strength for the future.

A film must confront the world in which it is made, but also the one in which it is shown. When Vadim Kostrov accompanied young couple Katya and Kostya to a nearby lake, and filmed them with the directness for which he is known, he couldn’t foresee the political implications of these images. At the time Kostya was about to join the Russian military – a decision he came to regret later on. It’s breathtaking to witness the film’s playful innocence, while at the same time measuring every word against the destructive nature of war – yet the film outlines more than a political parable: Kostrov reflectively turns towards the few hours of light in the face of an impending darkness, which linger too briefly.

Middle Ural, winter. A time of silence and hibernation. The bright future is anticipated yet covered with a thick layer of snow, hidden by the blizzard. Spring and summer lie somewhere very far, beyond the obliterating winter.

The film takes us to Nizhny Tagil in September of 2021. Gosha Gordienko, the front man of the rock band Lazy Comet, and Matthew Bedin came together to compose the song Ya Videl for the new album of the group, which wasn’t finished. The film is a memory, a gesture that against all odds reminds the true power and beauty of art creation.

The movie was shot at the junction of documentary and fiction films. The film takes the viewer into the late Ural summer of 2019 and immerses us in the real life of today's youth, with all its uncertainty, fragility, pain, despair and aspirations.

Meditative observation of what is happening in the winter yard.