The project is a documentary film based on interviews with an individual in remission from drug addiction. The goal of the project is to draw attention to the issue of substance abuse and to show how the conviction of having complete control over the situation can prevent a person from acknowledging the problem and seeking help.
In the «Illusion of Control» project, Ryanna Chernyakova served as the producer. She founded the project, conceived the main idea, and chose the title. She also assembled the team, managed the process, and meticulously outlined the step-by-step implementation plan that we subsequently followed.
Like any project, «Illusions of Control» needed a space to convey its ideas to people. To share our thoughts and find resonance, we created a Telegram channel where you can see behind-the-scenes footage from the shoots, learn new information, and get to know the project in greater depth.
Concept for the Telegram Channel «Illusion of Control»
The team behind the «Illusion of Control» project aimed not so much to discuss dependencies and their consequences, but rather the journey itself—from a harmless phrase like «I’ll just try it» to the moment when those consequences become genuinely frightening.
Polina Uratkina took on the role of editor and content designer for the Telegram channel. She proofreads post copy, makes revisions, and maintains a consistent style and visual design. Elizaveta Olar’ also works with her, focusing on generating ideas and writing the posts.
Below, you can see what the finished posts look like in the «Illusion of Control» Telegram channel:
For successful filming and editing, it was necessary to write a script and define the emotional tone of our video. Sofia Lagutina and Anastasia Chuvilina completed this work.
In addition to the roles listed here, there were individuals who also contributed to the project’s realization. - Varvara Leontieva was responsible for the video editing and served as a production assistant during filming. - Mishko Elizaveta managed the visual assets for the project: designing social media covers, and also contributed to the video editing and assisted with filming. - Valeriya Markovskaya participated in location shoots, helped source content, and edited the project description.
Furthermore, participants whose primary roles are listed above undertook additional tasks: - Anastasia Chuvilina served as the sound designer during the shoot. - Elizaveta Olar helped source supplementary content for the episodes. - Sofia Lagutina was in charge of cinematography.
Thanks to our collaborative and diligent work, we achieved our project goal and created a video on a socio-cultural theme.
