Sing along to classic Soviet musicals in London

London’s BFI Southbank and Ciné Lumière will host a season of musicals from the Soviet Union, Russia, and the Caucasus, launching tonight with the 1949 classic Cossacks of the Kuban.

Blending Western glamour with state ideology, Cossacks of the Kuban tells the story of a love affair between workers from two competing collective farms.

The following screening will be the 1962 adaptation of Dmitry Shostakovich’s operetta Cheryomushki (or Cherry Town), which subtly criticises the now infamous housing projects built under Nikita Krushchev.

The exciting roster features a number of contemporary musicals: Hipsters, the 2008 celebration of a 1960s style-driven youth counterculture; and Leto, dissident director Kirill Serebryanikov’s 2018 animated take on iconic Soviet rock bands.

Melodia! by Russian film charity Kino Klassika runs until the end of January 2020 with screenings in London and Bristol. Get your tickets here.