Filmmaker Statement

No: close-ups, manipulation via music, and pointless camera movement. I strove to make “Almost Spring” using as few expressive means as possible, and in a way that is detached, dry, concise, and intentionally lengthy — as much as short film format allows for this. I sought to explore the lack of choice people face on the daily and the feeling of having no choice itself, which is essentially the same thing — that sense of oppression and confinement that results from having essentially no choice. Ballot stuffing, which is currently the norm throughout Russia, raises a number of questions: to what extent has oppression become habit? Do evil and untruths begin with making concessions and fulfilling "little requests"? How easy is it for the average person to actually resist and say: "No." This film was made before the war in Ukraine started and it clearly shows how deep the problem is in Russian society and how tragic it is that people do not know how to stand up for their rights.