For the past three years, Ukraine has been fighting for its independence against Russian aggression. What does a "peaceful life" look like far from the front lines, in the rear? For a year and a half, film director Vitaly Mansky has been documenting life in his hometown of Lviv, where people’s daily existence is affected by the constant threat of enemy missiles. The time it takes for these missiles to reach their targets now shapes the life of every Ukrainian.

War doesn’t start and end in battlefields; it originates and is buried in peaceful cities. This film delves into the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine, not by focusing on violence, shelling, or the victims, but by reflecting on the military vehicles that either enter or have long been embedded in the lives and minds of people across various countries.



Regarding the film distribution, please contact Natalia Manskaia natalia@artdocfest.com

Reconstruction of 2020 through the history of the creation of a theatrical production about freedom, love and the meaning of life based on the biography of Mikhail Gorbachev.

"Gorbachev. Heaven" is a documentary film about changes that reverberated throughout the world wrought by one man. A film summing-up the life of a man who changed the world in the 20th century. Gorbachev’s short time in power was marked by the collapse of this empire. He was the architect of Glasnost and Perestroika, policies that gave the citizens of the Soviet Union – what Ronald Reagan called “the Evil Empire” – a chance to be free. He tore down the Berlin Wall. But at the same time, under his rule, the Chernobyl nuclear facility exploded and its destruction was concealed. Citizens demanding independence in the Baltic states died. Soldiers wielding shovels brutally suppressed protesters in Tbilisi. And Soviet tanks menaced, and killed, peaceful demonstrators in Baku. The Soviet empire collapsed under him – and he is condemned by his own people. With this burden of the past, this lonely old man is living the last days of his life in an empty house in the suburbs near Moscow.

Detailed information about the film, reviews, articles, interviews and photos are available on the official website of Vitaly Mansky Manski-doc.com.

The events of the film begin on December 31, 1999 when Russia was acquainted with its new president. The film is based on unique and strictly documentary testimonies of the true causes and consequences of the operation "successor", as a result of which Russia ended up with the president who still rules the country. The protagonists of the film are Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, Vladimir Putin, and the Russian nation, as always being a silent witness of its own destiny.

Internet-premiere of the film took place on the 12th December 2018 at the Artdoc.Media online movie theatre.

The history of a family. The history of the country. Ukraine 2014–2015. Director of the movie, Vitaly Mansky, was born in Ukraine, and, after finishing his studies in VGIK, he lived and worked in Moscow. His family still lives in Ukraine, and because of the Russian-Ukrainian military conflict, his family members had to make a choice, which resulted in some of them becoming sworn enemies. This film reveals different aspects of the conflict, focusing on the situations faced by an “ordinary” person, as well as examining different views of the world, so that the spectator can look deeper into the roots of these tragic events. At the same time, the interviews made by the director – conversations with relatives –reveal the feelings and views of these people but also provide an insight into the history of Ukraine and preconditions of this conflict. The film shows how the conflict caused hatred among the citizens of the same country. Close Relations is the most personal movie made by Vitaly Mansky.

A documentary about the life of an eight-year-old schoolgirl Gin-mi in Pyongyang, the capital of the DPRK, shot by a Russian filmmaker in a script written by North Korean comrades.

A thousand years ago, in ancient Armenia, St. Gregory of Narekatsi wrote a book of prayerful contemplation, which to this day is the deepest revelation of the spiritual world of man in search of the meaning of life. The protagonist of the film is a modern person living in the modern world. A world in which the fundamental question of the meaning of life is not relevant.

A film about modern Europe. About its two edges, or, more correctly, extremes. About Europe, which begins in the deserted space of Russian Siberia and ends on the cozy beaches of the Bay of Biscay, where even the laws of nature form fundamentally different styles of human existence. What can unite such different lives? Physically, they are united by the Western Siberia–Western Europe gas pipeline. The pipe not only connected, but also inextricably linked THIS Russia with THIS Europe. The film was awarded the National Film Award "Nika" - 2014, nomination Best Non-Fiction Film.

In January 1943, with a powerful offensive by Soviet troops in the direction of Donbass and Kharkov, the liberation of Ukraine from the Nazi occupation began. The Red Army reached the Dnieper lines, crossed the Dnieper and liberated Kiev. Forced the Dnieper and Mykola. On the Dnieper he was wounded, an enemy shrapnel injured his knee. Since then, Mikola can walk very slowly and only with a stick. Now he lives on the outskirts of the city of Mena, in the Chernihiv region of Ukraine. He is not the only veteran from Men, the veteran movement has always been developed here, there were monuments in almost every village, Eternal fires were burning. Now the events of those distant years have been forgotten in a series of today's problems. But for the Mensky veterans, May 9 is still the main day of the calendar.

What comes to mind at the mention of Cuba? Especially someone who has never been to this island nation in the Caribbean. Most likely, this is a cabriolet with happy blond young men in colored shirts and cocktails in their hands, surrounded by dancing mulattos, in whose eyes the boundless ocean is reflected. Of all the above, in reality there is only a boundless ocean that cuts off the island from the rest of the world. Perhaps there is no other country on earth where the difference between its image and reality is as great as in Cuba. For more than 50 years, the state has been living under the slogan of the victorious revolution "Motherland or Death". For 50 years, this slogan has been a pressing dilemma for several generations of Cubans. The film tells about the generation that was born before the revolution and today is approaching the line of its own life. When it becomes more and more clear that for them between "motherland" and "death" it will be possible to put a sign of identity.

They say that the average earthling spends at the TV screen about 10 years of his life. It is pointless to wonder if these are years lost. It is impossible to imagine our civilization without TV. Although 100 years have not passed since its invention. How did this global absorption by the TV air of the planet Earth and its inhabitants happen in such a short period of time on a historical scale? To what extent does it reflect social complexes, prejudices and expectations? To what extent is it a mirror of social psychology? Is the phenomenon of TV connected with the phenomenon of faith? Has it become something like a religion of the 20th century?

A film about the life of the dacha village of the Soviet elite, who settled on the banks of the Moskva River in the 20-30s of the last century. The documentary play "Nikolina Gora" is a kind of continuation of the play by Chekhov "The Cherry Orchard" with real characters, representatives of Russian bohemia in the conditions of modern life. “Dacha, summer residents, it’s so vulgar,” said Ranevskaya in Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, resisting the fragmentation of the latter into small plots. But progress is inexorable, and the old “cherry garden” had to be sold and cut down, and another life appears in place of the old dachas and the old way of life.

These are the 24 hours in the residence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, from the beginning of his day which starts, by the way, at 3 am till dusk when he goes to bed. During that time period, the film crew followed the Dalai Lama in his morning fitness training, his walk along the residential alleys, his prayers and meditations. These are followed by audiences, press-conferences and giving blessings to pilgrims. On the same day the Dalai Lama gave his teachings to the Buddhists from Russia and Mongolia. And at the end of the day, when the Buddhist leader returned to his personal quarters, the filmmakers enjoyed a totally informal discussion where the Buddhist leader touched upon the essence of the Universe and the role an individual has to play in religion and contemporary society. The cameras also caught quite a few absolutely unexpected moments that would surely enrich the Dalai Lama image for those with a keen interest. The second part of the movie is a travelogue compiled by the filmmakers on their trip from India, though China, to Russia. On the way back home, they keep on recalling their last discussion with the Dalai Lama that they just had before they left his residence. Quite surprisingly, the issues discussed with the Dalai-Lama were about overpopulation, a gap between rich and poor, ways to avoid global conflicts - these themes had been powerfully confirmed by the striking images they encountered on the way home.

What is virginity? Does it make sense to keep it until marriage? Girls asked themselves such questions about twenty years ago. What is virginity? How much am I willing to sell it for? Such questions are asked by modern girls. But is modern man ready to sell only virginity today? The three protagonists of the film are young girls from the provinces who dream of conquering Moscow. Each has its own plan. One seeks to get into a fashionable TV show and build love with the hero of her dreams, along the way giving him, and therefore all viewers, her purity. Another imagines herself a new Madonna or a new Britney Spears, she protects her virginity, because this is a valuable commodity. And the third treats virginity as a commodity, ready to sell. Just need money. To go study. It doesn't matter which institute, the main thing is to be in Moscow.

The director's journey in search of his classmates from 52 schools in the city of Lvov, with whom he studied together in Soviet times. Today, only a few of them are left to live in Lviv. The rest dispersed all over the world. What unites the former pioneers of the Gagarin Detachment now? What is the Motherland for them today, to which they swore allegiance, joining the pioneers in the spring of 1973?

Chronicle project about children born on the eve of 2000.

On July 25, 1980, the great Russian poet Vladimir Vysotsky passed away. He was 42 years old. He did not die in a duel like Pushkin and Lermontov, did not fall from a bullet and noose like Mayakovsky and Yesenin. The cause of his death was no less dramatic. Vysotsky struggled with death for a long time. But by the beginning of 1980, this duel turned into a fierce fight. After 25 years, we present the first documentary evidence of this struggle. Everyone has the right to their own judgment about the death of a great poet, but no one's judgment can claim absolute truth. According to eyewitnesses, after meeting the new year 1980, Vysotsky's illness began to progress and turned into real agony. We will reconstruct the events with chronological accuracy from January 1st up to July 25th, 1980. The film is told by people who knew Vysotsky closely in the last year of his life.

According to a drunk, middle-aged woman who always wanted to be an actress, "Happiness is when someone understands you, when someone loves you." Her equally inebriated boyfriend is so jealous that he smacks her time and again. Director Alexander Rastorguev follows the tragicomic couple during their summer holiday by the sea. But he also directs his camera at other seaside visitors, like the man earning a living on the beach with a camel, a young womaniser, and a dwarf getting married to a young woman. They are all spending the summer on the eastern coast of the Black Sea. Rastorguev observes man in all of his manifestations: fat, thin, young, old, drunk, dancing, singing, having sex and bathing in mud or in the sea. Even President Putin makes an appearance, clad in casual clothes. Quite a few fortune-seekers at the resort get caught up in a daily carrousel of sex, booze and aggression. When a corpse washes ashore, several people say they would also like to drown in the sea. It is no surprise that the soundtrack repeatedly plays a song of longing, about a small boat all alone at sea: "What is it looking for so far from home? Not happiness, but a typhoon."

According to a drunk, middle-aged woman who always wanted to be an actress, "Happiness is when someone understands you, when someone loves you." Her equally inebriated boyfriend is so jealous that he smacks her time and again. Director Alexander Rastorguev follows the tragicomic couple during their summer holiday by the sea. But he also directs his camera at other seaside visitors, like the man earning a living on the beach with a camel, a young womaniser, and a dwarf getting married to a young woman. They are all spending the summer on the eastern coast of the Black Sea. Rastorguev observes man in all of his manifestations: fat, thin, young, old, drunk, dancing, singing, having sex and bathing in mud or in the sea. Even President Putin makes an appearance, clad in casual clothes. Quite a few fortune-seekers at the resort get caught up in a daily carrousel of sex, booze and aggression. When a corpse washes ashore, several people say they would also like to drown in the sea. It is no surprise that the soundtrack repeatedly plays a song of longing, about a small boat all alone at sea: "What is it looking for so far from home? Not happiness, but a typhoon."

A documentary series filmed in the reality show mode and aired on the STS channel in 2004. The goal of the creators is to convey the real atmosphere within the group and show the life of the Tatu group in all its manifestations.

The tape tells about one day in the life of the participants of the 7th International Space Expedition, specifically Hero of Russia Yuri Malenchenko, NASA astronaut Edward Lu and representative of the European Space Agency Pedro Duque. This day, October 28, 2003, is the day of their return to Earth after a six-month space watch.

What is show business. What are his laws? What is the mystery of the rise, decline of the t.A.T.u. group and its producer. Real movie about real stars of world show business. From several hundred Moscow schoolgirls, the previously unknown producer Ivan Shapovalov chose the fourteen-year-old Lena Katina and Yulia Volkova, creating the t.A.T.u. group.

One of the legends of Soviet television is Valentina Leontieva. One of the first TV presenters. She was called the All-Union "Aunt Valya". The peak of Leontyeva's fame came in the late 1960s - early 1970s, when she hosted the program "From the bottom of my heart" adored by the people. Leontyeva's story about herself in the film is illustrated by film and television footage, photographs of her personal archive. But even the most vivid memories of past glory cannot drown out the pain and longing. Valentina Mikhailovna appears before the audience in a dressing gown and slippers. The poor environment, the simple decoration of her home, and most importantly, the genuine sadness in her eyes and voice suggests that the once beloved and irreplaceable aunt Valya has been undeservedly forgotten.

"We propose to look at the history and present day of the Kremlin through the eyes of people who have served the Kremlin for years. The film consists of five episodes. The first is the preparation of the Kremlin for the New Year, the second is dedicated to the Kremlin as a presidential residence, then the Arsenal and military history, the fourth is about symbols, the fifth series talks about the Kremlin as a museum. For example, a woman spent her whole life studying the Monomakh's hat. She, this keeper, talks about this hat like that! However, you need to watch the film," says Vitaly Mansky.

A small tent city called “Broadway” spontaneously springs up every summer on a wild beach in the vicinity of Tuapse. Here come "savages" people who cannot afford even the cheapest holiday home. It is almost a virtual city that will not exist tomorrow, growing for the season, here people suffer and fall in love, play and lose, people are born and die here.

Today a series of hockey matches in 1972 between the national teams of Canada and the USSR is remembered only with the prefix super. They call it a milestone in the history of the development of world hockey, and not only hockey. The meeting of Soviet hockey players with Canadian professionals became the main topic of world news. One Canadian journalist promised to eat the newspaper in which the Russians win. The Russians have won. And the journalist Dick Beddoes had to fulfill his promise and eat a report in the newspaper with borscht. What happened then, 30 years ago in the USSR, Canada, how were the games in Canada and Moscow, the intensity of the political confrontation around hockey, life before and after the Super Series? All this in five episodes.

The first Russian documentary series about the police, about the "harsh working days" of real policemen, employees of the Moscow Airport Department of Internal Affairs. They perform operational and investigative actions, which are immediately filmed by a film group. Among the protagonists are a district inspector, an operative officer, an investigator, an inspector for juvenile affairs and the head of the police department. Each episode focuses on one crime. The viewer sees with his own eyes how the police work, starting from a call to the police station, ending with the detention of the criminal and his interrogations.

The film is dedicated to the first and last president of the Soviet Union, Nobel laureate Mikhail Gorbachev. The film was shot in Moscow, Berlin and Rome, at a reception with the Pope in the Vatican and in the homeland of Gorbachev in the Stavropol Territory.

Documentary about President Boris Yeltsin.

In five European cities, Helsinki, Rome, Budapest, Brussels and Moscow, five directors made a film about the place they live in. The director of the Moscow series, Vitaly Mansky, lives in the house where the great documentary filmmaker Dziga Vertov used to live. What Vertov saw through his windows and what a modern director sees today.

Documentary about the first year of Vladimir Putin's presidency

The history of the formation of modern Russia.

60s, 70s, 80s. Our childhood, youth and youth of our parents. Some songs, some films, some idols. Kindergarten, school, pioneer camp, institute and army. Everything, like everyone else. Our life. Who does not remember the rumbling of a small movie camera, home viewings of 8 mm films. Years have passed, life has changed, and the miraculously preserved old film footage of family newsreel helps us return to the past, which is not always fun. "Private Chronicles. Monologue "" is not just a portrait of time. The hero of the film is a "typical representative", "average type", a person born on April 11, 1961, with whom we live the first steps, the first school years, the first love, the first sexual experience, the first betrayals and the first insights, until 1986, when what some call the beginning, others the end began in the USSR.

Russian fairy tale about real people.

The history of mankind is also the history of wars. The film contains military footage of the 20th century that has never been included in official chronicles. The so-called "cuts" are, as a rule, "household" in nature. The film is an image of a huge and hopeless war, where men wander through the twentieth century, where there is no front line, where the war turns into a massive sexual perversion that destroys the very logic of human existence.

In 1991, the communist Empire of the USSR was destroyed. And one of the main symbols of Soviet power, Lenin's Mausoleum and Lenin's Body itself were left without an owner. The film tells about the body of Lenin, its contents, its protection and different opinions about the future of this body - to sell, revive, bury. A film about a society that survived the collapse of the Empire. The film features exclusive footage and interviews.

1991. Part 1. Joseph, Adolf and Eve. The history of the whole country goes through the history of the inhabitants of a communal apartment in the very center of Moscow. The film was first shot in the USSR, in 1990. Under the windows of the communal apartment, tanks roar ominously at night rehearsing the last military parade dedicated to the October Revolution. And the residents receive humanitarian aid from Germany. 1993. Part 2. Big sale. The film was shot in 1993, when jackhammers roar under the windows and the only window overlooking Gorky Street, a new McDonald's restaurant under construction, is boarded up. And the whole country lives in anticipation of the arrival of Michael Jackson in Moscow. 1995. Part 3. New times. The film is no longer dedicated to the inhabitants of a barrack-type communal apartment, but to the inhabitants of a fashionable Stalinist house for the Soviet elite, which was also affected by the trends of the new time. If the tenants of a communal apartment are taken to cemeteries, some to new areas, then the former Soviet elite succumbs to the onslaught of new Russian capital and sells their apartments.

Evil launched into another will always return to the one who launched it. After returning from Afghanistan, an internationalist warrior on the street kills a teenager just for his appearance.

From Rock of Protest to Rock of Conjuncture. Perestroika not only opened the way for various cultural phenomena that had previously been in the underground, but also gave rise to a wave of opportunistic products using the aesthetics of underground art. A film about the staged by the theater of the young spectator of the rock opera "Dogs".