In GES-2, Korkia spends five years following the transformation of a former power plant opposite the Kremlin into a museum for contemporary art. Construction workers, artists, visitors, museum staff, client and architect are filmed in an observational manner, with stunning camera work. The closing scene of the film, completed in 2021, with the song ‘sorrow overcomes happiness’, turns out to show great foresight, and leaves the viewer with a sense of wonder for the Russian soul and bafflement at the disastrous developments since then.
The introduction by the young Russian architecture journalist Asya Zolnikova – who, like Nastia Korkia, has fled Russia – clearly illustrated the impact of the repressive Putin regime on public spaces and urban live in Moscow. It set the film in context and enhanced the conflicting feeling all the more. Both Zolnikova and Korkia strongly stated against the cruel war in Ukrain and the senseless sacrifice of tens of thousands of lives.
Read the article about GES-2 by Asya Zolnikova in De Architect.
TOP 10 AFFR Audience Award 2022
1. GES-2 (Nastia Korkia, 2021)
2. Pleistocene Park (Luke Griswold Tergis, 2022)
3. Cane Fire (Anthony Banua-Simon, 2020) & Listen to the Beat of our Images (Audrey & Maxime Jean-Baptiste, 2021)
4. Kadir van Lohuizen: Food for Thought (film & talk with Jord den Hollander))
5. The Proof of the Pudding (Patrick Minks & Jaap Veldhoen, 2022)
6. The Territory (Alex Pritz, 2022)
7. Being a Human Person (Fred Scott, 2020)
8. Jacques Tati, Tombé de la Lune (Jean-Baptiste Péretié, 2021)
9. Robin Hood Gardens (Thomas Beyer & Adrian Dorschner, 2022)
10. Van der Keuken en zijn blik op de stad (special Nederlands Fotomuseum)
