original title:
Imperium
directed by:
screenplay:
editing:
Sergey Loznitsa, Audinga Kucinskaite
music:
Vladimir Tarasov
producer:
production:
Essential Filmproduktion, Kino Produzioni, Société Parisienne de Production, Studio Uljana Kim, Arte, Rai Cinema, Luce Cinecittà, CSC - Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, AAMOD Fondazione Archivio Audiovisivo del Movimento Operaio e Democratico, with the support of The Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM), Creative Europe MEDIA, Lithuanian Film Centre
world sales:
country:
Germany/Italy/France/Lithuania
year:
2026
film run:
176'
format:
colour
status:
Ready (23/07/2026)
festivals & awards:
IMPERIUM is a striking visual journey through the vast expanse of the Soviet Union, built entirely from long-forgotten archival footage shot between 1970 and 1973 by Italian filmmakers. From Arctic shores to Central Asian deserts, from the Carpathians to the Pacific, the film reveals a rich tapestry of cultures the Soviet state sought to standardize. Beginning in Moscow and gradually approaching remote villages where centuries-old traditions still thrived, exposing the decreasing weight of centralized power. Without voice-over or commentary, the images themselves reveal a profound paradox: an empire projecting unity while ruling over profoundly heterogeneous worlds. Through these rare, unfiltered glimpses of daily life, IMPERIUM uncovers the often-hidden colonial dynamics of the USSR and the quiet resilience of its many peoples. More than a historical document, the film becomes a lens through which to understand the fractures and geopolitical tensions that continue to resonate across the former Soviet space today.