This Feature Film Could Be 700 Hours Long

Well, probably not, but that’s about how much footage the Russian director shot of the DAU project, “a multiyear experiment in which hundreds of nonprofessional actors lived and worked in a replica of a Soviet research institute, what may be the most ambitiously immersive film set ever made, in Ukraine. People played versions of themselves, transposed to lifestyles and careers of the Soviet Union. Artists, scientists and religious leaders visited the set, becoming part of the production  and even holding lectures and workshops.” Two of the planned 13 resulting feature films premiered at the Berlinale this week. – The New York Times