Report from the shooting in the Kommunalka in Bielinskiy 6 in Petersburg

About the shooting in Petersburg write Karolina Bielawska (director) and Virginia Surdej (cameraman)

Arrival

After 29 hours of a journey we finally reached our destination – we arrived at the Vitebsky railway station in Petersburg. We hardly managed to get off the train because of large amount of luggage and equipment. Eventually we got out onto a beautiful, noble and elegant station. We spent there about half an hour thinking what to do next. Walking back and forth, we were attentively looking for anyone awaiting us. When we finally came to a conclusion that there is no such person, suddenly Nicola appeared. I remember that I have never been that happy about meeting anyone that I had been at that moment. We were saved!

In search of an ideal kommunalka

After we had unpacked, we had begun searching for a kommunalka appropriate to the needs of our film. We started calling people we had never seen before and whose telephone numbers we got from our friends from Poland, who had known someone, who knew someone who lived in Petersburg… Often in order not to involve ourselves in too much explanation, taking into consideration our humble knowledge of Russian, we would introduce ourselves as distant relatives from Poland. Our interlocutors were surprised to hear they had family in Poland, but usually they would let us in into their home. We would come, sit, talk, listen, watch and nothing would have come out of that, although I have to admit, that our “distant relatives” usually had turned out to be extremely nice people.

One day, an acquaintance of professor Hieronim Grala, called us into his office and announced that he knows one kommunalka where his friend, poet Viktor Malcev lives with two former prisoners and a group of artists. And that is how we ended up in Bielinskiy 6, flat number 2.

Bielinskiy 6

We had luck. In kommunalka in Bielinsky street there was one room vacant, in which nobody had lived for seven years already. There was nothing left to do, but to move in, although the state the flat was what had horrified us at the very beginning. It turned out, that there was no proper bathroom. Our host showed us his own toilet and would let us make use of it. We were also given instructions concerning which light switch we are allowed to use in the kitchen, since in our kommunalka each room had its own light switch (in order not to use your neighbor’s current), and which shelf in the refrigerator is assigned to our room.

The tenants of the kommunalka gave consent to our moving in and to the shooting of the film – only two, the former prisoners, did not agree to be filmed. But after first Polish-Russian meeting, „resistant” tenants had changed their mind and in the end took part in our film.

We had cleaned up the room of the dust lingering for many years and started to set into the life of the residents of the Petersburg kommunalka. There were ups and downs. It turned out that our flat-mates grew attached to us. They didn’t like us being away. It was the more surprising to us that at first they didn’t seem happy with our presence there. Once, when we stayed overnight at dorm, we got punished. All the doors of kommunalka were closed for us. And we had to gain favor with out flat-mates. Taught a lesson, we didn’t make such mistake again.

Quite fast, taken into account the concept of our film, we managed to work out an optimal tactics: to spend one day with only one character. That way we got to know them one after the other. They were different people and different worlds, but always very interesting to us. Some were closer to us then the others. We made friends with some, with others not. Surely enough both for them and for us it was an interesting period in life.

That’s how two weeks passed. At first we were very happy about going back to Poland. Now I regret that we didn’t spend more time there and I feel unsatisfied because of that. It seems to me that what we have on tape is just the tip of the iceberg. I know that in those people and in that place lies dormant much, much more.

To sum up: It was awesome!