Saw this in Leeuwarden (NL), at the Noordelijk film festival 2023. Fascinating documentary on bus stops, deemed "minor architecture" by Soviet administration, hence free from regulations and built without central interference. More often than not, the neighborhood participated in creating and decorating it. We met several architects who had designed some of these bus stops. We also heard from people living nearby with a mixture of opinions. Not everyone welcomed outsiders with interest in the bus stops, clearly ashamed about their street art, often referring the photographer to the city center where there was much more to see.
The area to cover was huge, counting tens of thousands of kilometers/miles to cross. A map was shown, emphasizing the size of the original Soviet Union, much larger than I ever had imagined. A large variety of countries was visited, some are now part of the EU, or leaning towards the EU, contrary to others with more connections to Russia, like Belarus. Cattle made good use of some of the bus stops to stay out of the sun or the rain. Another one was proficiently used to house a fruit market (there he was sent away "this is not a gallery"). Anyway, their past role as a bus stop was mostly forgotten.
The photographer in question did his for some 20 years already. He was in a bit of a hurry because he often found a bus stop demolished before he could see and photograph it. Many locations were not easily accessible either, where he had to plough through unwelcoming landscapes with mud and snow. Due to the "minor architecture" status of the bus stops, there was no centralized documentation he could use as a guide. He had to fall back on asking around (alas, his language skills were not always adequate to explain what he was looking for).
All in all, despite the modest running time, there was much to see and admire.
The area to cover was huge, counting tens of thousands of kilometers/miles to cross. A map was shown, emphasizing the size of the original Soviet Union, much larger than I ever had imagined. A large variety of countries was visited, some are now part of the EU, or leaning towards the EU, contrary to others with more connections to Russia, like Belarus. Cattle made good use of some of the bus stops to stay out of the sun or the rain. Another one was proficiently used to house a fruit market (there he was sent away "this is not a gallery"). Anyway, their past role as a bus stop was mostly forgotten.
The photographer in question did his for some 20 years already. He was in a bit of a hurry because he often found a bus stop demolished before he could see and photograph it. Many locations were not easily accessible either, where he had to plough through unwelcoming landscapes with mud and snow. Due to the "minor architecture" status of the bus stops, there was no centralized documentation he could use as a guide. He had to fall back on asking around (alas, his language skills were not always adequate to explain what he was looking for).
All in all, despite the modest running time, there was much to see and admire.
