Kristoffer Hegnsvad, DK 2022

At last: Soviet Bus Stops is coming to Vera. A new wave band? Shoegaze? No, a movie! Or rather, a documentary about, who would have guessed: Bus stops in the former Soviet Union. And it is way cooler than you’d think. 

Photographer Christopher Herwig traveled through the former Soviet Union, captured the artworks and created a photobook. As the foreword claims: “Christopher Herwig’s obsessional project illuminates the Soviet empire’s taste for the utterly fantastical. […] There is a certain amount of [utilitarianism], but it is atypical. The norm is wild going on savage.”

In the film, director Kristoffer Hegnsvad follows photographer Herwig on his quest through the most remote corners of the former Soviet Union by rental and taxi, hunting for the most special bus stops before they fall victim to decay.

The result will surprise you: Bus stops with mosaic patterns from embroidery magazines. Bus stops in the form of giant sea shells or locomotives. Weird wooden forms and cute, concrete houses. Soviet idealistic mosaics or swimming women. My favourite: The one in the shape of a giant octopus. Come choose for yourself.-Jos Z

Letterboxd

IMDb

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