Paper short abstract:

The tough life of Cossack Vasile Serghevici Serbov, who lives among the 40 remaining Lipovan Russians in the desolate village Sfiştofca in the Danube Delta.

Paper long abstract:

Author/Director: Mircea Sorin Albutiu

Year of production: 2017

Language: Romanian and Russian with English subtitles

Length: 40 minutes

Film link: https://vimeo.com/213116194

Password: festival1718

Trailer Link: https://vimeo.com/213374384

Synopsis

Vasile Serghevici Serbov is 54 years old and lives in a small community of Lipovan Russians in Sfiştofca, a village in the Danube Delta.

Since he does not have a steady income he occasionally works as a carpenter in construction. All fishing he does is for his own needs only. Sometimes he barters fish for wine and throughout winter he gets paid for taking care of a friend's cattle. He has organized seven editions of the "White Gull" Chess Cup.

Sfiştofca is an isolated village whose school and local store were closed down a few years ago. The sad thing is that about half of the houses in Sfiştofca are deserted and have begun to collapse. Cattle and horses can often be seen grazing the grass growing on the village streets. During summer they take shelter in the abandoned houses. The village has no running water and no sanitation. There are just a few fresh water wells in the village. Due to excessive vegetation, the fish in the Sfiştofca canal die. These harsh conditions turn basic needs into a continuous struggle for the villagers who are deprived of such commodities as foood, water and heating.

The future looks bleak. It is possible that in the next 30 years the village Sfiştofca could disappear completely.