BFI London Film Festival: Blood + Winter

Filmed in stark black and white, Alina Rudnitskaya’s award-winning documentary charts the lives and routines of a Russian blood transfusion team as their mini-van travels to remote, almost out of reach towns. Their task is to collect blood from the local people and as each donation provides a source of income the queues are long. But under the guise of a straightforward ‘documentary’, the film offers a striking portrait of small town life in contemporary Russia, as well as of the clinical team itself. Against a world of hardship and contradiction, we encounter unforgettable characters, dry humour, absurdity and friendship. As the director said, these extraordinary characters were found, not invented. Not for the squeamish.

Peter Hames + WINTER ZIMA Dir Cristina Picchi. Russia 2013. 12min

Tickets for London Film Festival screenings can be purchased through the BFI and BFI Box Office 020 7928 3232 (9.30am-8.30pm daily) or the London Film Festival website: bfi.org.uk/lff