Dimitri Venkov in conversation with Alexandra MacGilp for Cannibal Manifest exhibition catalogue AM: What inspired The Mad Mimes and how did it develop while you were making it? DV: One of the lasting impressions of my formative years was a discovery of Jean Rouch’s ethno-fictions. There I saw a narrative mode that was neither documentary nor fiction, rather it went back and forth between them…
Mad Mimes (2012)
The film is a study of the mimetic practices in a fictitious self-marginalized commune located next to the Moscow Ring Road, a highway that marks the boundaries of the Russian capital.
An anthropological study of a cargo cult in a fictitious self-marginalized commune, which existed next to the Moscow Ring Road - a highway that marks the boundaries of the Russian capital - and survived mainly on roadside trash. Although the road provided for their basic needs, the existence of the commune was extremely precarious and highly dependent on the roadway's fluctuations. This dependency led them to develop a cargo cult of the road.
Top Cast
Daniil Zinchenko
Tribesman
Pavel Grozin
Road worker
Alexander Evangely
Anthropologist
Alexandra Obukhova
Historian of religions
Arseny Zhilyaev
Anthropologist
Oksana Sarkisyan
Sociologist
Mikhail Maximov
Tribesman
Varvara Gevorgizova
Tribeswoman
Tanya Lazareva
Tribeswoman, mother of two
Anton Nikolaev
Pizdariki (Voice)
Andrey Golovin
Policeman
Maximillian Roganov
Road engineer
Sergey Pakhomov
Shaman
Valentin Fetisov
Ritual assistant
Semen Levinson
Child
Boris Kashapov
Tribesman (voice)
Reviews
FAQ about Mad Mimes
What is Mad Mimes about?
An anthropological study of a cargo cult in a fictitious self-marginalized commune, which existed next to the Moscow Ring Road - a highway that marks the boundaries of the Russian capital - and survived mainly on roadside trash. Although the road provided for their basic needs,…
When was Mad Mimes released?
Mad Mimes was released in 2012.
What genres does Mad Mimes belong to?
Mad Mimes is categorised as Documentary, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Comedy, History.
Who stars in Mad Mimes?
The cast of Mad Mimes includes Daniil Zinchenko, Pavel Grozin, Alexander Evangely, Alexandra Obukhova, Arseny Zhilyaev.