The countercultural movement of the ’60s that captivated hundreds of thousands of young people in the West had a profound impact on the other side of the Iron Curtain. Within the Soviet system, a colorful crowd of artists, musicians, freaks, vagabonds and other long-haired drop-outs created their own system, which connected those who believed in peace, love, and freedom for their bodies and souls.
On June 1 each year, Russia’s hippie community still gathers for a celebration that relates to a tragic event in 1971, when thousands of Soviet hippies were rounded up and arrested by the KGB. More than 40 years later, a group of eccentric hippies from Estonia took a road trip there to meet them and to hear their stories.
The result is a wild flower-power ride on the footprints of that movement, taking you into a psychedelic underground of the 1970s where, thrilled by rock music and inspired by the cult of peace and love, young long-haired drop-outs craved for freedom and created their own system even under a strict regime.
Following the film, director Terje Toomistu joins us for a discussion and a Q&A.
About the Director
Terje Toomistu (1985) is an Estonian documentary filmmaker with a background in anthropology. Her work often draws from various cross-cultural processes, queer realities and cultural memory. She holds double MA degrees (cum laude) in Ethnology and in Media and Communication from University of Tartu, where she is currently pursuing a PhD degree in anthropology.
In 2013-2014, she was also a Fulbright fellow in UC Berkeley, U.S. Together with Estonian artist Kiwa, she curated a multimedia exhibition about Soviet hippies, which has been exhibited in museums and galleries internationally.
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Photo Courtesy of Vladimir Wiedemann
TUE—November 27—7 PM
$12 ($7 ASF Members)
75 min. In Estonian, Russian, and English with English subtitles.