Alexander Abaturov’s stunning film captures the resilience of villagers in remote Shologon, but feels contextless
Due to a combination of climate change and state neglect, giant wildfires raged through millions of hectares of land in northeastern Siberia in the summer of 2021. Classified as “control zones” by the Russian government, the region gets little aid from officials; the cost of combating fires is considered to be excessive compared to the damage done. Focusing on the rural village of Shologon, Alexander Abaturov’s evocative documentary chronicles the heroic efforts of the indigenous community to protect their homes.
Largely populated by elderly people, women and children, Shologon has little equipment to slow the deadly spread of “the Dragon”, the locals’ nickname for the powerful forest fires. What they possess in spades, however, is astonishing resilience and camaraderie in the face of unprecedented calamity. Images of the villagers swathed in clouds of black smoke are accompanied by a child’s reading of an ancient folk tale, which speaks of a mighty and toxic wind – a profound juxtaposition that connotes how their fight for survival has existed for generations.
