RAUMZEITFILM Produktion

Laika, a stray dog, was the first living being to be sent into space and thus to a certain death. A legend says that she returned to Earth as a ghost and still roams the streets of Moscow alongside her free-drifting descendants. While shooting this film, the directors little by little realised that they knew the street dogs only as part of our human world; they have never looked at humans as a part of the dogs’ world.

A pack of strays – seven dogs and one woman live in the shadows of Moscow. Hidden from the totalitarian authorities, two species share their existence on the verge of disappearance. They are straying in constant restlessness through a savage landscape where the city is cracking. Shot from the animal’s point of view, patterns of mutual dependence and taming begin to blur.

Masha, a model pursuing her dream job in China, and Misha, a painter working in a morgue, form a profound, tragic relationship.

In 1731, nineteen "vampires" were burned at the stake near Olomouc, including seven children. In Banat, a part of present-day Serbia, reports of "people drained of blood" became more frequent. Empress Maria Theresa wanted to put an end to the goings-on and commissioned her personal physician Gerard van Swieten to shed light on the matter.