Essay: Doomed to Run ()

Deeply personal cinematic journey between two worlds—Catholic Venice and Islamic Dagestan. Inspired by Joseph Brodsky’s essay *Watermark* and Merab Mamardashvili’s lectures on those “doomed to run,” I craft a film-essay about identity, the ache of existing between cultures, and the endless search for home. Through fragments of daily life and raw, intimate phone calls with my mother, I try to make sense of living on the border—between faiths, eras, wars, and pandemics.

Cast (6)CrewGenresDetailsReleasesMediaAwards

Roman Cherpak

self

S

Shura Alkhasova

self

P

Petr Shevchenko

self

E

Elena Shevchenko

self

Gadzhimurad Efendiev

self

L

Leyla Efendieva

self

If you liked Essay: Doomed to Run, you might also like…

89% match

Naqoyqatsi

2002

91% match

My Mom Jayne

2025

85% match

McQueen

2018

81% match

Come See Me in the Good Light

2025

79% match

As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty

2000

75% match

To Kill a Tiger

2023

70% match

Drew: The Man Behind the Poster

2013

65% match

Capital in the Twenty-First Century

2019

64% match

In the Realms of the Unreal

2004

60% match

Ex Libris: The New York Public Library

2017

60% match

Unknown Dimension: The Story of Paranormal Activity

2021

60% match

Love, Marilyn

2013

60% match

Directed by John Ford

1971

60% match

Seduced and Abandoned

2013

60% match

The Curious Birth of Benjamin Button

2009

60% match

A Decade Under the Influence

2003

60% match

Aquaman: Heroines of Atlantis

2019

60% match

28 Up

1984

60% match

Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20

2022

60% match

I Am Heath Ledger

2017