Haunting documentary about Russian Arctic town lauded at Amsterdam Film Festival. Watch the trailer

A poetic film depicting life in a semi-deserted town by the Barents Sea wins special mention at Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival (IDFA).

Froth (Russia/Qatar, 2019), a feature-length documentary by Russian director Ilya Povolotskiy received a special mention from the jury in the Competition for First Appearance, a section dedicated to emerging filmmakers and their debut feature films.

A poacher nicknamed ‘catastrophe’, a retired sailor, and a self-taught diver that hunts for World War II shipwrecks are the protagonists of this tender portrait of a small, idiosyncratic community on the edge of the world. The Barents Sea forms the backdrop for the film; apart from a TV news report, there is no other reference to the world beyond this remote village. As a consequence of their isolation, its residents are united by their resilient attitude towards life in this harsh corner of the Arctic.

Ilya Povolotskiy (Moscow, 1983) is the founder of Black Chamber, a Russia-based independent film production company. He started his career as a director of advertisements, and has also produced a number of films depicting life in lesser-known areas of Russia.

You can watch the trailer of Froth here.