In USSR, it was said that “sex does not exist”. And yet, the beginnings of the Soviet regime were marked by a vast movement of sexual liberation. But this lifting of taboos was soon followed by a period of severe repression. Can the love of the party, the people and its leader replace romantic love and desire?
The October Revolution had led to a sexual revolution. In the early 1920s, the “Down with Shame” movement aimed at dismantling monogamy and liberating morals. With the arrival of Stalin however, a real turnaround occurred: bans were numerous and punishments hit anyone who spent his energy elsewhere than in the construction of motherland. Thus, in order to live one’s sexuality, one must lead a double life. This film offers a dizzying dive into the intimacy of people for whom pleasure was synonymous with prohibition.
In addition to the interventions of thinkers, historians and sexologists, this documentary displays little-known archives as well as numerous testimonies that allow us to take an original and sincere look at the seventy years of Soviet history.
Direction: Ināra Kolmane
Production: Film Studio Devini, Les Films du Balibari & mental dRive studio for Histoire TV