Ilya Khrzhanovsky's Decades-Long 'DAU' Project Finally Screens at Venice
The article details the massive, controversial film project 'DAU,' in which director Ilya Khrzhanovsky built a recreated Soviet institute in Ukraine and filmed participants for three years. A key incident involved a staged attack by real neo-Nazis that burned down the set, all captured on camera. After two decades and multiple scandals, the original epic is now being presented at the Venice Film Festival amid fresh geopolitical tensions.
The project initially received European Union funding as a conventional biopic of physicist Lev Landau, but transformed into a total-immersion experiment where participants lived under strict Soviet-era rules, including bans on modern technology and certain hygiene products. Former intelligence officers were cast as interrogators, adding an unsettling layer of authenticity.
Over 700 hours of film and thousands of hours of dialogue were captured. The 2011 arson, orchestrated by a real fascist leader who later died in prison, was filmed and followed by a celebration among the ruins. The resulting saga has spawned numerous films, international exhibitions, and a Russian ban.
The Venice premiere could reignite debates about artistic ethics and participant consent, as audiences may grapple with the blurred line between performance and real coercion. It may also influence how future filmmakers approach historical reenactment, given the project's use of real extremists and former state agents. Geopolitically, the screening could complicate cultural discourse, potentially affecting how Eastern European and Russian narratives are received in the West.