Regia/Director Marina Fomenko
Fotografia/Photography Marina Fomenko
Montaggio/Editing Marina Fomenko
Produzione/Production Marina Fomenko
Russia 2018, 8’20 nessun dialogo con sottotitoli in inglese e italiano/ no dialogue with English and Italian subtitles

The key figure of the Great October Socialist Revolution of 1917 in Russia was Lenin. After his death in 1924 Lenin’s image was immortalized in countless numbers of monuments in the Soviet Union and in the Soviet bloc’s countries. In her video, the artist shows the images of the Revolution leader carved in stone based on archival materials and found footage. There is neither living nor dead Lenin in the film; only “the stone guest” become ingrained in Soviet people lives after his death. A special ritual with public speeches and celebrations together with a vast audience accompanies the “birth” of each new stone in honour of Lenin. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the life cycle of the “stone guest” is coming to the end.