Dziga Vertov, A Sixth Part of the World (1926)

SHOOTING THE REVOLUTION FILM SERIES

22 February 2017  6:30 pm

Dziga Vertov, A Sixth Part of the World (1926) 73 min

A silent film with Russian and English subtitles

The screening is introduced by Dr. Oksana Sarkisova (Blinken OSA)

Free admission | Limited seats are available on a first-come first-served basis

Dziga Vertov, A Sixth Part of the World (1926) 73 min

Vertov’s spatially most ambitious film, A Sixth Part of the World was commissioned by the State Trade monopoly, but turned out to be far more than a mere run-of-the-mill promotion film. This cine-race across the Soviet universe stretches eastwards, northwards, and southwards and creates a highly ambiguous image of a “union of borderlands.” The film is both a visual experiment with ways of representing a new form of supra-ethnic unity and a novel form of travelogue. It earned Vertov not only high praise as a “cine-poet” but also vilification as an “exoticism-hunter.”  Sixth Part of the World unfolds in six loosely connected parts, each with a different focus. Its pioneering structure and visual language ensured heightened attention to the film at the time of its release – as well as a short distribution life. It was called at once monumental, epic, and a lyrical vision of the Soviet Union.