Set against the icy landscape of contemporary Kalmykia in southern Russia where Buddhism is practiced by the majority, Elza, a young housewife feels trapped in her marriage. In the small fishing village on the edge of the Caspian Sea, superstition has as much weight as science and tradition and modernity live side by side. When Elza’s shady husband doesn’t return from a fishing trip she is gifted the power to change her life. As the gulls circle overhead, traditionally thought of as the souls of dead fishermen, the now pregnant Elza must rethink her plans. The Gulls is a rare window into a remote ethnic community and the first film from Kalmykia in 25 years.
The Asia Pacific Screen Academy expresses its respect for and acknowledgement of the South East Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We pay our respects to the Traditional Owners of country, including the custodial communities on whose land works are created and celebrated by the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. We acknowledge the continuing connection to land, waters and communities. We also pay our respects to Elders, past and emerging. We recognise the integral role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and First Nations peoples continue to play in storytelling and celebration spaces.
