Private Project

A Hole To Hell

In 'A Hole to Hell' we follow retired Geologist Yuriy Smirnoff who worked on the Kola Superdeep borehole – a project by the then Soviet government to bore deep into the earth's crust. An internal feat of drilling as revolutionary and awe-inspiring as the external race into space. Media outlets reported on a myth that the drilling had opened up an entrance to hell. But what the filmmakers show us is a portrayal of a man out of time, walking through a graveyard of memories. The ageing Smirnoff takes us on a tour of Korzunovo, a Soviet ghost town, home of a Red Army garrison once frequented by Yuri Gagarin. And finally to the borehole itself. And what starts with a myth of Hell as a superficial horror story develops into a study of a man lost in a hell created by the vacuum left by the collapse of the Soviet Union.

  • Pawel Nazaruk
    Director
  • Tomasz Adamski
    Director
  • Pawel Nazaruk
    Writer
  • Pawel Nazaruk
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 46 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 1, 2015
  • Production Budget:
    6,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Poland
  • Country of Filming:
    Russian Federation
  • Language:
    Russian
  • Shooting Format:
    HD
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • SHORT TO THE POINT FESTIVAL, Romania
  • Karelian International Film Festival, Russia
  • Canada Shorts - Merit Award Winner
  • Equality Festival, Kiev, Ukraine
  • 1st Jaipur Film World
    Jaipur
    India
    April 1, 2017
  • EuroFest European International Film Festival
    St. Petersburg
    Russian Federation
    May 27, 2017
    Best Documentry Award
Director Biography - Pawel Nazaruk, Tomasz Adamski

Pawel Nazaruk is a filmmaker and producer with independent filmmaking background. Awards include: Film Outlook Main Prize for 'Franz Goes For a Fish' (2000), Golden KAN for 'Sianokosy' (2001), multiple Jury Level Winner awards at Filmaka (2007-2009), including the favourite short film pick by Wim Wenders for 'Neighbors'. He's a co-author of feature documentary 'Where Are You, Teresa.O?' (in production) and developing another feature documentary 'Kazimierz Nowak. A Story of Certain Madness', co-funded by Polish Film Institute.

Tomek (Strzała) Adamski is an independent filmmaker and university lecturer in film history. As a member and contributor to two film collectives “Podlasie Makes Me Happy” and “Podlasie Films Attacks” he has co-produced, directed and participated in various documentary and feature projects. His films were presented and awarded at many festivals in Poland (CK OFF Przemyśl 2013/2014, Offeliada Polska 2013, 17th Meridian Film Festiwal Góry Stołowe 2013,2014, Barejada 2013 ) and were screened at numerous festivals abroad including: USA, Germany, Czech Republic, Bialorus, Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine and Georgia. He is a speaker and selector at Zuboofka International Film Festival.

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