When pioneers of Montage met Chinese culture

Nestled in Moscow's Mira Avenue, the State Central Cinema Museum boasts a unique permanent exhibition — a meticulous reconstruction of Sergei Eisenstein's apartment. Filled with hundreds of his personal artifacts, the exhibition serves as a testament to the cultural developments that shaped the artistic vision of the pioneering Russian director.

Visitors studying this recreated environment can see the surprising connection between different civilizations and the influence of Russian and Chinese cultural exchanges on cinema.

In the 1920s, the Soviet Montage Movement, spearheaded by pioneers such as Eisenstein, Vsevolod Pudovkin, Alexander Dovzhenko, Lev Kuleshov and Dziga Vertov, sought to revolutionize cinema with innovative techniques. Their montage methodology influenced directors across the world, including China, and had a huge impact on film aesthetics. Montage refers to the technique of selecting, editing, and piecing together separate sections of a film to create a cohesive whole or sequence.