El Documental del mes - A PASSION FOR THE HERMITAGE - el Documental del mes

The documentary approaches us to the Saint Petersburg’s famous Museum of Hermitage through the people who are still working there. All of them have their reasons to feel like home in the Catherine the Great’s Palace, a safe refuge that has managed to keep itself apart from the cruel Soviet History. This way, what starts as a curious kaleidoscope of the people and the day by day of the museum, gradually turn into a touching story about how the worries of the workers lessen thanks to the intimate relation they have with the art pieces around them. So this way, the Hermitage becomes a place of emotional healing.

Aliona van der Horst (Moscow, 1970), born in Russia but with Dutch nationality, works as a documentary film director since 1993. She studied Russian literature at the University of Amsterdam, and later studied documentary direction at the Dutch Film and Television Academy. Her final project, The Lady with the White Hat, obtained several awards, including Tuschinski Award in the Dutch Film Festival (Utrecht, 1997).

Among her works there are The Little Red Box (1998), After the spring of ’68. A story of love (2001), Relieved (2004) and Voices of Bam (2005).

> Montréal Festival of Films on Art – First Prize. Canada, 2006.

> Dutch Academy Awards – Best Cultural Program Award. Netherlands, 2003