Letters from St. Petersburg is an extension of Lotte Nielsen’s previous artistic work documenting groups of young LGBTQ* people across different cultures, most recently in Turkey, the US and now Russia. Her films center on exploration of group identity and the repercussions of national political conditions in every facet of these individuals’ lives.

In poetic, color-saturated imagery, Lotte Nielsen draws an empathetic portrait of a group of young people from the LGBTQ* organization Coming Out. The film takes place over a couple of days, when they are gathered in the collective Triglinki in central St. Petersburg. Founded in their personal universes, from which they share music, lyrics and stories, we experience a group of young people who stand by their identity, expression and way of life in a country where the government seeks to forcibly oppress all who do not adhere to the conservative, patriarchal values that they promote.

Since the adoption of the Law against Homopropaganda in 2013, Russia has experienced a sharp decline in basic rights and living conditions for LGBTQ* people. Police violence, hate crimes and harassment have been and still are a part of everyday life for many LGBTQ* people in the country.

Lotte Nielsen was born in Copenhagen and attended the Kunstskolen Spektrum in Copenhagen, and the Royal College of Art and Goldsmiths University in London.

Her films have previously been shown at Nikolaj Kunsthal, GL STRAND and CPH: DOX in Copenhagen, KUNSTEN in Aalborg, and Whitechapel Gallery in London, among other venues.

LOTTE NIELSEN is a grantee of Danish Art Foundation.

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