Congratulations to SEELC graduate student Dusty Wilmes , who was awarded second prize in the journal Studies in Russian and Soviet Cinema’s competition for the best postgraduate research article.

The article is titled "National Identity (De)Construction in Recent Independent Cinema: 
Kirill Serebrennikov’s Iur’ev Day and Sergei Loznitsa’s My Joy." It examines two contrasting phenomenon in the portrayal of Russian nationhood in recent independent film, what he calls "neo-chernukha" and "neo-populist". While films of the former continue to deconstruct and debunk myths of Russian nationhood prevalent in the media, the latter group reveals a new tendency among indie filmmakers to construct affirmative, albeit fraught, notions of social identification, often by recycling cultural myths and traditions such as Christian collectivism and kenoticism. The article gives close analysis of a representative film from each group, My Joy and Iur'ev Day, and attempts to situate them in the broader discourse of nationhood, both historically and in contemporary society.

Along with a monetary prize, Dusty will have the opportunity to publish his article in the next issue of the journal.