Hacker Cinema
DAU
2026 · Film · 195 min
Part of DAU Cinema
Directed by Ilya Khrzhanovsky
Inspired by the physicists who built the Soviet atomic bomb, the film DAU follows a brilliant Greek-born physicist from 1928 through four tumultuous decades in the USSR. Driven to uncover the laws of the universe, the idealistic Dau is drawn into state service to help create one of history’s deadliest weapons. Inside a secret research institute, life is governed by scientific ambition, power, surveillance and privilege. As his autonomy erodes, Dau seeks freedom beyond his marriage through a succession of affairs, gradually losing both himself and his capacity to love. At once an intimate portrait of a man in pursuit of happiness and freedom and a vast fresco of a society founded on violence and ideology, DAU traces the small compromises that shape a life and alter the course of history.
1 positive2 neutralfrom 3 commenters
Where to watch
No streaming data for this title.
3 comments on Hacker News
The films are masterpieces. Highest ratings all over.
But SJW were outraged about the filming conditions years before already. It was a major production scandal, but the artists and backer sticked to it. Just an extremely long time.
You can watch them on the DAU website for a small fee. Corona killed the cinema prospects.
Tangent that may be of interest: a film on Lev Landau being produced that was shot over several years inside a massive historical village set, heavy on the surrounding mystic and unfortunately stuck in some kind of post-production hell for years now (though reportedly still active): http://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/mystery-dau-insane-never-ending-russian-epic-might-stay-hidden/
Phenomen Films | London, UK | ONSITE | Frontend / Full-Stack Developer
Phenomen Films is an independent film production company currently working on DAU, a film project conceived and directed by Ilya Khrzhanovskiy. Shot over several years in Russia and the Ukraine, DAU is now post-producing in London. The setting is 1938-1968 in the Soviet Union. We have 700 hours of material (all shot on 35mm) out of which we are making feature films, TV series and a slate of science and arts documentaries, as well as a multi-media project.
For the media project, we have been working on a web application to let viewers explore the raw, unedited footage (using time-based annotations compiled by a team of analysts) and interact in real-time with other viewers. The footage and annotations are stored using a slightly-customised instance of an open-source video archive platform, built with Django, PostgreSQL and friends.
We're looking for a frontend (or front-leaning full-stack) developer to focus on, well, the frontend: iterating on the current design, informed by user feedback, towards an immersive and intuitive navigation system. You'll need strong web frontend development skills (HTML, CSS, ES6). Some UX design experience would be very helpful. One or more of the following would be great, but not at all essential:
* Experience with Django and PostgreSQL (for the archive platform)
* Experience with search, multimedia, real-time communications, or recommendation systems
* Experience with data analysis in Python using pandas, scipy, and friends
* Some Linux sysadmin skills
* Strong opinions about any of the above
This could be a full-time or part-time position, depending on your situation and availability. Most, if not all, of the work will need to be carred out on-site.
Contact recruitment@phenomenfilms.com to apply for this position.