Turksib, with live soundtrack from Bronnt Industries Kapital

About

One of the most breathtaking documentaries ever shot, Turksib is an epic spectacle that lyrically and intensely depicts Stalinist Russia’s improbable efforts to build a railway through one of the most inhospitable deserts in the world. Bristol’s Bronnt Industries Kapital embellish the film’s visual symphony with a stunning live score.

Directed by Viktor Turin and prepared for an English audience by John Grierson, this captivating timepiece allows us to witness the technological world we’ve built on nature’s shoulders: it is also a priceless artefact of cinema history, giving us unparalleled insight into the daunting technical and artistic creativity undertaken in the name of Soviet Communism.

With their live soundtrack, electro-acoustic act Bronnt Industries Kapital, led by composer Guy Bartell, tap into the weird and wonderful emotions and intellectual political dilemmas thrown up by this incredible film. Pastoral solo psaltery melodies, Central Asian-style drones, graceful ensemble pieces, and propulsive drum rhythms combine to trace Turksib’s dizzying transit. The moving images take on a hypnotic resonance. The film and specially commissioned score is the centrepiece of The Soviet Influence: From Turksib to Nightmail, a collection of films looking at the influence of Soviet propaganda on British filmmaking curated by the BFI and released on DVD & Blu-ray. The soundtrack was released as a standalone soundtrack on LP & CD by I Own You Records in 2015. Bronnt Industries Kapital’s previous work includes a contemporary soundtrack to Benjamin Christensen’s 1922 silent film about witchcraft, Häxan, released by Tartan Films and performed internationally. BIK has also released the albums Virtute et Industria (Static Caravan) and Hard for Justice (Get Physical).

Run time: 78 mins

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