Beldocs » Beldoks | 33 Ode to the souls of dogs Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter, directors of the filmSpace Dogs, have made a documentary about stray dogs and their life on the streets of Moscow THE AUTHORS FOUND OUT WHILST WORK ING ON THIS documentary that Laika, the world famousdogthatfirstflewintospace, actuallycame fromthe streets, which gave new direction to the film that will be screenedaspartof theCompetitionSelectionofBeldocs. . How did you come upon the idea of making this kind of documentary? “We’ve been fascinated for some time now by the lives of stray dogs in the Moscow area, as a special kind of community similar to that of humans. Our initial idea was simple –we wanted to create a cinematic experience in which the audience becomes part of a pack of street dogs. atwasapurely formalisticapproach,without language. During our first research, we discovered that famous dog Laika had been a former Moscow street dog. at discovery gave us a clear story to work with.” How did you strike a balance between those two stories – the one about stray street dogs, on one side, and the story of Laika, as the dog that first flew into space? “ at was our main concern – how to link those two layers into one story. We decided to work with a narrator, but not with a classic voice, rather with some kind of fairy tale narrator. Moreover, by using archival material we searched formotives that couldbe connectedwiththe lives of the street dogs that live in Moscow today. Dogs – astronauts placed in the role of heroic explorers, while street dogs are eternal seekers of new spaces in environments that were created by man.” How difficult was it to get information? “It wasn’t easy at all. Although we managed to get hold of a lot of unpublished film material and written documents, we had tobe very critical and considerate towards each source and author. It was a very useful meetingwithscientistswho’dworkedwithastronautdogs and read the journals they wrote during the early space race. is isn’t just a film about dogs; this story also tells us about humanity and human selfishness, which isn’t at all pleasant. “Animal testing for the purposes of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics still happens. Animals are still biological objects that are exposed to unknown conditions before humans are subjected to those same conditions – as was also the case with astronaut dogs. Canine astronauts have been placed in the role of heroic explorers, just as they are eternal seekers Psi astronauti stavljeni su u ulogu herojskih istraživača, baš kao što su ulični psi večiti tragači Tokom istraživanja smo saznali da je i čuvena Lajka bila moskovski ulični pas During our first research, we discovered that famous dog Laika had been a former Moscow street dog Želeli smo da stvorimo iskustvo u kompublika postaje deo čopora uličnih pasa, kaže Elsa We wanted to create a cinematic experience in which the audience becomes part of a pack of street dogs, says Elsa SPACE DOGS
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