Gabriel Tejedor captures the challenges of life in the remote, Stalinesque city of Magnitogorsk where hope glimmers from beyond the factory floor
Here is a continuation of Gabriel Tejedor’s fascination with the debris of the former Soviet Union; this latest documentary sets its gaze on the industrial city of Magnitogorsk, situated 2,000km from
Moscow. Here, time stands eerily still. Once celebrated as the “socialist city of steel”, Magnitogorsk typifies Stalin’s vision of transforming the largely agrarian nation into an industrialised superpower. Sprawled over the landscape is the colossal structure of Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK), the “kombinat”, or conglomerate, whose formidable influence embodies state authority, reflecting numerous key chapters in the country’s history.
More than a Soviet relic, MMK is still the main employer in Magnitogorsk, and one of the biggest steel manufacturers in the world. Its unnerving omnipresence is evoked here in its conspicuous glossy billboards, and also in the lengthy tracking shots that swirl leisurely around the metal arches and the ever-burning furnaces of the factory – images at once grandiose and terrifying.