Core of the World | Serdtse mira

Having cut all ties with his family, 25-year-old Egor lives on a remote farm, where foxes are raised to train hunting dogs, and he works as a vet. He feels better and safer among animals and keeps aloof from people. Echoes of his troubled past, along with the arrival of animal activists, gradually erode the refuge he has created for himself.

Natalia Meshchaninova claims her place as a significant voice in Russian cinema with this superbly acted study of the fragility of human empathy under pressure.

Filmography: The Hope Factory (2014).