International Competition

Garage People

Natalija Yefimkina
Screening time  
17.06. / Thursday, 15:00 - 17:00 MM Centar Ticket
18.06. / Friday, 21:00 - 23:00 Ticket

In post-Soviet Russia there is a phenomenon beyond ice fishing, matryoshkas and vodka: the garage settlement. Tin huts, inhospitable from the outside, provide a refuge for a large number of Russians – mainly men. According to their own taste and away from all rules, with ingenuity and tenacity, alternative habitats are created on just a few square meters. Scrap collector Ilya uses the garage as a production facility, Roman uses it for his quail breeding, Pavel carves skillful saint figures, and Viktor has added four underground floors to his space over the decades. Everything is here, and everything seems possible. The garages are an expression of a retreat into the private sphere, an escape from everyday life. Behind the Arctic Circle, in a rough area where a mining company is the only employer, the garage remains the last chance for self-realization – and comes across as diverse as the dreams of its owners.

Natalija-yefimkina

Natalija Yefimkina

Natalija Yefimkina was born in 1983 in Kiev to Russian-Ukrainian parents and moved to Germany with her family in 1995. After studying history and literature in Berlin, she worked as an assistant director and production assistant for feature film productions. She made several short documentary films prior Garage People (2020), her feature-length debut as a director.

General sponsor

Garage People

Germany
2020, 95'

Directed by:
Natalija Yefimkina

Screenplay by:
Natalija Yefimkina

Cinematography:
Axel Schneppat

Edited by:
Nicole Fischer, Lucia Gerhardt, Markus Schmidt, Barbara Toennieshen

Producers:
Andrea Schütte, Dirk Decker

Produced by:
Tamtam Film

Festivals & Awards:

Sarajevo Film Festival 2020 – Eurimage Audentia Award
Berlin International Film Festival 2020
IDFA 2020
Full Frame 2020
Docaviv International Documentary Film Festival 2020
Astra Film Festival 2020
Kharkiv Meet Docs 2020

Contact:

Tamtam Film
Behringstraße 16a
D-22765 Hamburg, Germany
T. +494032522330
E. mail@tamtamfilm.com
Anja Dziersk  
E. anja.dziersk@riseandshine-berlin.de