2025 Atlanta Film Festival

A PLACE FAR FROM HOME (Mesto Daleko ot Doma)

Expired May 12, 2025 4:00 AM
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Nestled in the misty mountains and woodlands surrounding Lake Baikal, Olejka’s rural Russian orphanage seems like a wholesome enough place for a boy to live. At 9 years old he’s smaller than most of his tough-guy friends and submits both to their teasing and to his uneasy role as the pet of the orphanage’s matron. Dreaming of a home with real parents, his only protector is Clara, a sullen older girl. As the summer wears on, Olejka becomes the center of a desperate tangle of abuse.


With its precise cinematography and natural performances, director Diana Mashanova’s debut feature adds a daring and delicately-voiced entry to the cinema of houses of forgotten children, from ZERO FOR CONDUCT to THE TRIBE. A PLACE FAR FROM HOME weaves a potent atmosphere of latent brutality, sweeping its internalized violence to the corners of sunny classrooms and hazy summer vistas.


- Jonathan Kieran

  • Year
    2025
  • Runtime
    70 minutes
  • Language
    Russian
  • Country
    Russia
  • Premiere
    World
  • Subtitle Language
    English
  • Social Media
  • Director
    Diana Mashanova
  • Screenwriter
    Diana Mashanova
  • Producer
    Diana Mashanova
  • Cast
    Matvey Kazazayev, Diana Sanzhayeva
  • Cinematographer
    Grigory Maykov
  • Editor
    Polina Berestovaia
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