40'2017Polanddirector: Marcin Sautercinematography: Marcin Sauterediting: Michał Marczak, Ziemowit Jaworski, Katarzyna Orzechowskaproduction: Studio Filmowe KRONIKA
The residents of a dying city on a disappearing sea.
The eponymous Zhalanash is a city on the Aral Sea. It was once a port city, but today, with the lake’s volume having shrunk dramatically, it is not uncommon to find ships sitting in sand dunes. Zhalanash enjoyed its glory days during the Soviet era, but it was investments made at the time in mass cotton cultivation that contributed to its downfall. Today, among the rusted traces of its former glory, the desert wind howls, and the inhabitants hope for the great lake's return. Sauter's nostalgic film shows a place where time has stood still, and where memories are more important than reality.
