ЙЯ-ХХА (JJA-CHCHA)

Nugmanov shot this film about the Leningrad underground rock scene in just two weeks. Jja-Chcha is the name of a group whose music turned into anthems for change. The film features several founders of Russian rock music, such as Viktor Coj, Majk Naumenko, and Boris Grebenščikov. It is not a portrait of them, but rather captures the general atmosphere: we see concerts, weddings, and everyday life, such as Viktor Coj working as a boilerman in a students’ home. This is a film about Soviet subculture, about music, about the Perestroika, about people who don’t identify with the system in which they live.