BRIEF ENCOUNTERS (1967) was the debut feature from Kira Muratova. It was here we saw the beginnings of Muratova’s impressionistic style, blending observational realism with new wave experimentation. Despite the continued censorship Muratova’s work received (Brief Encounters was banned for twenty years) she still managed to emerge as one of the leading figures in Ukraine and Russian cinema, building a very successful film career from the 1960s onwards due to her boundary pushing directorial approach and aesthetics. Brief Encounters tells the story of an intricate love triangle, connecting a city planner (played by Muratova herself), her free-spirited geologist husband (legendary Soviet protest singer Vladimir Vysotsky), and the young woman from the countryside (Nina Ruslanova) whom she hires as their housekeeper. Extras: Interview with Dr. Elena Gorfinkel, Isabel Jacobs on Brief Encounters, Video essay by Masha Shpolberg