Nadia Bedzhanova: shooting today’s hyper-connected youth, from Moscow to New York

Nadia Bedzhanova is part of a new wave of Russian indie filmmakers cultivating a international cinematic language. Originally from Moscow, this New York-based director has worked on videos and short films all over the world and is particularly interested in the preoccupations of young people. Her short film Adrift, for instance, tells the story of three bored Brooklyn teenagers drifting, fighting and pushing themselves over the edge. Headlong, set in a Soviet-built swimming pool, poses questions of intimacy and self-discovery. Wasteland looks to Generation Z who despite living in different corners of the world but united and shaped by social media, as well as unveiling the hidden poetry of juvenile idleness. Regardless of age and location, the stories of the protagonists of Bedzhanova’s films are always aesthetically sharp and unmistakably relatable. The director is also widely known for her work in fashion and her videos for Thom Browne, J.Kim, Vogue and Paper Magazine are by no means inferior to her own independent practice.

Text: Anastasiia Fedorova