Here's to the Absent Ladies! 2023

Directed by Masha Chernaya

The most numerous subculture is a nameless one: it’s the boys’ subculture. Mindlessly at first, they mimic the rituals and habits of adult men. Boys curse, boys raise glasses “for ladies not present here”, until they gradually evolve into men, becoming role models for the next generation of boys. The character of this montage film crafted from discovered tapes makes such full circle: through his childhood, a winter dacha with vodka shots, a picture-perfect 2000s vacation in Turkey and Egypt with his parents, and into adulthood and his own family.