Directed by Uldis Brauns • 1967 • USSR/Latvia

A landmark in the Baltic poetic documentary tradition, 235 000 000 is one of the most ambitious films of the Soviet 60s. Produced in celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the October Revolution – the title refers to the nominal population of the USSR at the time – the film presents a series of tableaux from Soviet life, from affairs of state to everyday life across its myriad diverse regions stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific coast. A collaboration between four production units guided by a field manual put together by scriptwriter Herz Frank and director Uldis Brauns (a disciple of Dziga Vertov), 235,000,000 eschews voiceover or commentary, allowing its timeless and exquisite images to speak for themselves.

235 000 000
Directed by Uldis Brauns, Laima Žurgina, Biruta Veldre
Written by Herz Frank
Cinematography by Rihards Pīks, Valdis Kroģis, Ralfs Krūmiņš
Music by Raimonds Pauls

In Latvian and Russian with English subtitles