PREVIEW: State Funeral (PG)

WHO’S IN IT?

(as themselves) Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev, Lavrenti Beria, Vyacheslav Molotov, Georgi Malenkov, Dolores Ibárruri, Enlai Zhou, Yumyaagiin Tsedenbal, Valko Chervenkov

WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?

Sergei Loznitsa (A Gentle Creature), director, writer, producer; Maria Baker-Choustova (Maidan), producer; Danielius Kokanauskis (Donbass), editor

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

On March 5th, 1953, Joseph Stalin’s death sends shockwaves across the Soviet Union. His state funeral, a culmination of the personality cult that the dictator established throughout his brutal regime, is presented via unseen archive footage that details the extravagant measures that the Soviet government took to preserve Stalin’s legacy…

IN ONE SENTENCE, WHY SHOULD YOU BE EXCITED?

The immediate events in the wake of Joseph Stalin’s passing – previously dramatized to heavily satirical effect in Armando Iannucci’s The Death of Stalin – are explored in this archival documentary, which also investigates the terrifying cult of personality that the dictator enforced across the Soviet Union.

WHEN’S IT OUT?

FRIDAY 21ST MAY 2021

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?

IN CINEMAS NATIONWIDE, AND STREAMING EXCLUSIVELY ON MUBI – GET YOUR FREE 7-DAY TRIAL NOW WITH AMAZON PRIME VIDEO

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