This is Cosmos is the first film in Anton Vidokle’s trilogy exploring the ideas of Russian cosmism—a unique phenomenon in the Russian culture of the late nineteenth century that had an impact on the country’s science, philosophy, literature, arts, and theology.
The first part of the trilogy focuses on the writings of Christian philosopher Nikolai Fyodorov, the author of the philosophy of "common cause" based on the idea that humanity should overcome death, resurrect all the dead, and populate other planets. Fyodorov believed that death was a mistake, "because the energy of cosmos is indestructible, because true religion is a cult of ancestors, because true social equality is immortality for all."
Filmed in summer 2014 in Moscow, Borovsk, Arkhangelsk region, Altai, Kazakhstan, and Crimea—This is Cosmos is a collage featuring writings by Nikolai Fyodorov and Maria Ender and poetry by Nikolay Zabolotsky and Maximilian Voloshin. For the screening, Garage and Ad Marginem Press also published a collection of writings on Russian cosmism by Boris Groys.
The film was screened as part of the exhibition Field Research: A Progress Report.
Status: 2013–2015
Researcher: Anton Vidokle
