• THE 3 ROOMS OF MELANCHOLIA

    THE 3 ROOMS OF MELANCHOLIA



  • THE 3 ROOMS OF MELANCHOLIA

    THE 3 ROOMS OF MELANCHOLIA



  • THE 3 ROOMS OF MELANCHOLIA

    THE 3 ROOMS OF MELANCHOLIA



  • THE 3 ROOMS OF MELANCHOLIA

    THE 3 ROOMS OF MELANCHOLIA



  • THE 3 ROOMS OF MELANCHOLIA

    THE 3 ROOMS OF MELANCHOLIA



  • THE 3 ROOMS OF MELANCHOLIA

    THE 3 ROOMS OF MELANCHOLIA



THE 3 ROOMS OF MELANCHOLIA

by Pirjo Honkasalo

THE 3 ROOMS OF MELANCHOLIA

Finland | Sweden, Denmark, Germany | 2004 | 110:00 min

Content Categories

Documentary
Synopsis
This award-winning, stunningly beautiful documentary reveals how the Chechen War has psychologically affected children in Russia and in Chechnya. Divided into three episodes or 'rooms,' the film is characterized by an elegantly paced, observational style, which uses little dialog, minimal voice-over commentary and a spare but evocative musical score.

Room No. 1, LONGING, set in a military academy in Kronstadt, near St. Petersburg, portrays the highly regimented lives of the young cadets, most of them from broken or dysfunctional families, who are being trained for future roles in the Russian army. While showing their military drills, classroom sessions, church ceremonies, and recess period, the film briefly profiles several of the boys, whose stories reflect the political turmoil of contemporary Russia.

Room No. 2, BREATHING, filmed in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, the former Soviet republic fighting for its independence, shows the widespread destruction wrought by the Russian shelling and bombardment, a city where families struggle to survive in barely habitable buildings, packs of stray dogs roam the streets, Russian military vehicles clog the roads, soldiers monitor roadblocks, and a courageous woman attempts to rescue orphaned or semi-orphaned children from the violence.

Room No. 3, REMEMBERING, filmed in the neighboring Islamic republic of Ingushetia, focuses on children in refugee camps and in a makeshift orphanage, including a young boy found living in a cardboard box, a 19-year-old girl traumatized by her rape at the age of 12 by Russian soldiers, and a roomful of children transfixed by televised images of the deadly aftermath of the crisis in which a Moscow theater audience was held hostage by Chechen terrorists.
Festivals/Awards
Venice IFF 2004 (The Human Rights Film Network Award, The Lina Mangiacapre Award and EIUC Special Mention)
CPH:DOX Copenhagen 2004 (CPH:DOX Award)
IDFA 2004 (The Amnesty International – DOEN Award)
Jussi Award 2004 for Best Documentary Film and Best Music of Finland
TEMPO DF Stockholm 2004
DocPoint Helsinki 2005
Sundance 2005
ZagrebDox 2005 (Big Stamp Award in the Int. Competition)
Documentary and Short FF VERA Åland 2005 (VERA Prize)
Tampere International Short FF 2005 (Main Prize in Finnish Competition, Over 30 minues)
Mar del Plata 2005 (ACTA Prize by Signis and Fuena Prize “Visión Artistica”)
Thessaloniki IDF 2005 (FIPRESCI Award for Best Foreign Production and Honorary Award)
Full Frame DFF 2005 (Seeds of War Award)
DocAviv Tel-Aviv 2005 (Special Mention in the category Best International Film)
Chicago IDF 2005 (Arie & Bozena Zweig Innovation Award)
Hot Docs Toronto 2005
One World IFF Prague 2005 (Award for Best Director)
Pärnu IDA FF 2005 (Grand Prix)
Yerevan IFF 2005 (Grand Prix for Best International Documentary Film)
Warsaw Doc Review 2005
Nordisk Panorama Bergen 2005 (Finland´s State Quality Award)
Yamagata IDF 2005
Sheffield IDF 2005
DocLisboa 2005
São Paulo IFF 2005
IDFA Flies Tropics Suriname 2005
Pärnu IDF 2010
Message to Man IFF St. Petersburg 2011
TriContinental FF 2012
ZagrebDox 2014
cph:dox Copenhagen 2014
DocsDF Mexico 2015
Nordic Docs FF Oslo 2015
Valladolid IFF 2015
Docs Against Gravity FF Warsaw 2016
IDFA Amsterdam 2016
CinéDoc IDF Tbilisi 2017
Shanghai IFF 2018

Nominated for the Nordic Council Film Prize 2005
Prix Italia 2005 in the category TV Documentaries - Current Affairs
Shortlisted for Grierson Award 2005 in the category Best International Cinema Documentary
Eurodok Award 2006

2023
20 MDAG – Millenium DOCS AGAINST GRAVITY, Poland
Cast and Crew
  • Director Pirjo Honkasalo
  • Producer Kristiina Pervilä
  • Director of Photography Pirjo Honkasalo
  • Editor Pirjo Honkasalo, Niels Pagh Andersen
  • Sound Matti Turunen, Mart Otsa
  • Score Sanna Salmenkallio
Original Languages

Russian

Arabic

Czech

Links / Reference
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