Film
Disgraced Monuments + discussion
- Director
- Laura Mulvey, Mark Lewis
- Running Time
- 48 mins
Pull ’em down or ‘retain and explain’? The debate about what to do with statues memorialising dodgy historical figures is a live one in the UK, not least here in Bristol. But the Russians have been dealing with this issue for decades – unsurprisingly given their history of purges – as Mark Lewis and Laura Mulvey‘s documentary reminds us.
Shot in Moscow and Saint Petersburg (then Leningrad) in 1991 and 1992, Disgraced Monuments underlines the cyclical nature of history as it explores whether statues are an important part of a common shared culture, however traumatic, or a painful reminder of years of oppression which should be removed. Perhaps the whole debate is a distraction from confronting more important issues. As one art historian remarks: “It’s easier to struggle with monuments than with concrete reality.”
The Watershed’s screening will be followed by a live-streamed virtual discussion with the filmmakers and the University of Bristol’s Professor Tim Cole chaired by Watershed Cinema Curator Mark Cosgrove.
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