FILMWHERE KNIVES BECOME TONGUES



Documentary, Mockumentary
35:42 min
Color
Sound
Russian spoken language
English subtitles

Director: Jeanna Kolesova
Sound design: Alina Anufrienko
Re-Recording: Fedya Balashov
DOP: Anna Ivanova, Jeanna Kolesova
Editor, Colorist: Jeanna Kolesova
With: Alina Anufrienko, Maksim Avdeev, A.N., Anna Ivanova, L.N., T.N., L.N., I.N., Jeanna Kolesova, E.N., Anna Malgina, V.N., Ilario Pasut

Supported by
Neun Kelche
A hybrid documentary-mockumentary Where knives become tongues collides three realities: rural Russian women and Orthodox clergy, queer migrants in Germany, and the far-right’s rise they now face. Revisiting 2019 interviews recorded in Russia, the friends confront not just memory, but the impossibility of dialogue across divides.



Jeanna Kolesova focuses on the clash of narratives, particularly the critique of Russian nationalist story-telling. Their latest video work is a documentary with mockumentary elements based on Kolesova‘s fieldwork: in 2019, they returned to their native village in rural Russia to explore the ideas of gender, religion and womanhood held by local women and orthodox church personnel. They are now repeating this investigation among their Russian friends who left the country. The film provides insight into the thoughts of a queer friend group on anti-LGBTQIA+ oppression, memory, religion, politics, and gender issues during a trip to Brandenburg—a place where the AfD has gained significant support, demonstrated by last year’s state election. The short film connects the interviews conducted in Russia six years ago with the experiences of the five friends in Brandenburg, posing a pressing question: is it possible to foster a genuine dialogue between these two worlds?
Neun Kelche, 2025



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