The Aral Sea in Central Asia was once one of the four biggest lakes in the world. But the lake was drained as a result of various irrigation projects initiated by the former Soviet Union, and today, it has largely disappeared. In this beautiful shot about the port city Zhalanash, we only see the remains of a once flourishing area of the Soviet economy. Fishing boats erode in the dusty desert, a lonely camel wanders an empty street, meanwhile, a man drives his truck to sandy villages to deliver water to the remaining residents. The film is not only an expressive landscape, but first of all a portrait about the people, who invested their hopes in this city, and now trying to find themselves among the wrecks of ships and port cranes.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Marcin Sauter is a photographer, cinematographer and film director. He teaches at the Andrzej Wajda Master School of Film Directing. He established the foundation The Bydgoszcz Newsreel. His adventure with the cinema started in 1997 when he cooperated with Maciej Cuske on the feature film “What Do You Think About It, Gałuszko?”. Then, he continued with such documentaries as “The Travelling Cinema” (2005), “North From Calabria” (2009) and “Hakawati” (2011).