Siberian Rock Meets Tradition – Bugotak, 2007
This video was one of my most unusual and memorable projects. It features the ethnic Siberian rock band Bugotak, led by Sayan Andriyanov. The band is known for blending traditional instruments with raw Siberian energy.
I produced the video in 2007. At the time, I invited my dear friend Henryk Baranowski, a Polish film and theater director, to appear in it. We had recently worked together on Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk by Shostakovich (2006) at the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre. There, I created the video projections.
Since Henryk was still in town, I asked him to take part in a quiet, symbolic scene. It showed a man and a woman peacefully watching the sunset. To capture this, I visited his apartment and took simple photos in his kitchen. Later, I transformed them into a video sequence using image morphing.
How We Filmed the Cockroaches
One of the most surreal parts of this project came from Sayan himself. He owned a collection of pet cockroaches, which he lovingly fed bananas. Surprisingly, he wanted them in the video—and we made it happen.
We filmed the cockroaches flying, and even transforming into tanks. Sayan glued a plastic tank turret onto one roach. Another was suspended by a thread to mimic flight. Everything was real—no CGI, just clever staging and a lot of patience.
Looking back, those scenes now seem strangely prophetic. In the video, the cockroaches revolt, holding protest signs with a crossed-out slipper. Then, a slipper-wielding figure—eerily similar to modern political archetypes—crushes them. The scenes depict cockroach armies invading a peaceful city—by air, by ground, even in cockroach tanks. At the time, it was dark satire. Yet, we didn’t realize how closely it would mirror the world’s future unrest.
I edited everything together, using visual effects to complete the piece. Ultimately, it became more than a music video. It was a metaphor, a warning, and a bizarre reflection of fears we couldn’t yet name.
