To Live in the North (2026)

A film by:

To Live in the North (2026)

Facing the harsh Russian winters and journeying into the remote northern lands; an intense story of survival, raw nature, and hidden beauty.

Trailer

Gallery & News

Director

Elina Bakunova

Director, Producer

Elina Bakunova is a Tatar-Russian documentary filmmaker, travel content creator, and cultural storyteller whose work explores the hidden beauty and cultural diversity of Russia and its neighboring countries. Born in Perm Krai in the Ural Mountains, she grew up far from international travel routes and had never left her hometown until the age of seventeen, when she moved to Moscow for university and began her first journeys. Inspired as a teenager by a travel program, she dreamed of hosting such a show herself. When casting opportunities didn’t work out, she chose to create her own travel stories, a decision that shaped her independent and creative path.

Fluent in English, Russian, and Tatar, and also speaking French and Italian, Elina studied Public Relations and completed an exchange year in the United States focused on TV journalism, editing, and professional storytelling. Over the past decade, she has visited 61 of Russia’s 83 regions, including some of the most remote and rarely documented areas such as Yakutia, Chukotka, Vorkuta, and the Yamalo-Nenets tundra. She has also filmed in post-Soviet countries including Mongolia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, and Iran.

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Filmography:

To Live in the North (2026)

Director's Statement:

I have always lived in a northern country, yet most people around me spend their lives waiting for summer, escaping the cold, and traveling only to warmer places. I wanted to challenge this view. Through this film, I aim to show that cold is not an enemy to endure but a reality to embrace, a world where life continues beautifully, and where indigenous communities have learned to adapt in meaningful, resilient ways.

My journey began with a personal fear: I was always afraid of the cold. By confronting it, I sought to discover the true essence of winter in Russia. Along the way, I traveled through diverse landscapes and cultures, capturing the different faces of our northern life.

The film culminates in my participation in the All-Russia winter swimming competition, where I not only overcame my fear but also won first place. This experience became a metaphor: facing the cold is not about suffering, but about strength, endurance, and the discovery of unexpected beauty. Through this story, I invite audiences to reimagine the north, not as a place of isolation, but as a space of vitality, culture, and possibility.

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