IGOR VIRABOVDocumentary filmmaker
The Tide Turns

FINDING DIRECTION
WHEN PLANS
FALL APART

Films shaped by the unexpected
A method for finding your way through it

01 / THE FILMSSelected work 02 / THE JOURNEYSIn the field 03 / THE METHODWorkshop

Selected films

01—03

01 / FEATURE DOCUMENTARY

THE TIDE TURNS

India2025

Two friends
One way out

Ranjit and Shyam grew up among salt workers in the Rann of Kutch. They leave for a shipyard, drawn by the possibility of another life. Their different dreams turn a shared journey into a test of friendship.

Film on IMDb
Directed and written by
Igor Virabov
Showrunner
Ivan Oganesov
Produced by
KITSTUDIO, Online-Cinema Premier, Evgeny Shmelev, Shyam Gadhavi
Cinematography
Evgeny Disterlo
Original music
Anton Bulle
  • Beat Film Festival· 2025
  • River to River· 2025
  • NIFF· 2026
  • SANFICI· 2026

02 / FEATURE DOCUMENTARY

TRADE-OFF

BrazilIn production

No future comes free

A former Bolshoi dancer in exile and two children from Rio’s favelas are brought together by ballet. At a decisive audition, their paths diverge. What must be sacrificed for a dream, and who carries the cost?

Directed and written by
Igor Virabov
Produced by
Marilha Naccari, Chancela Naccari, Lira Filmes, Antidrama
Cinematography
Sergey Komarov

Industry selections

03 / SHORT DOCUMENTARY

THE SECRETS OF WILD HONEY

Altai2021

Follow the bees
Into another reality

Wild bees lead us to a community of Old Believers in Altai, where a rumour points deeper into the taiga: a passage into a parallel universe. An offbeat, hallucinatory documentary adventure through esoteric beliefs and encounters that keep reality in question.

Film on IMDb
Directed and written by
Igor Virabov
Produced by
Antidrama
Cinematography
Evgeny Disterlo
Original music
Anton Bulle
  • FHIFF · Venice· Winner · 2021

In the field

SELECTED LOCATIONS
TV programmes
200+
documentary films
3
countries
80+

WHEN REALITY
CHANGES THE ROUTE

Places where access disappeared, stories shifted
and the film had to be rethought.

World map

Choose a place to read a field note.

Map: Natural Earth

MUSHKAPAT, ARTSAKH / ESSAY

The Last Robots of Artsakh

Robotics classrooms, military drills and children imagining a future. A report from a village near the front line, before the blockade and the exodus.

Read the essay

Workshop

DREAM SCRIPT + VISUAL LANGUAGE MAP

A practical workshop in documentary directing

DIRECTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

SO NOW
WHAT?

How do you prepare for a film
that keeps changing?

My method begins with two working documents:

01

Dream Script

Imagine the film before it exists: the protagonist’s journey, possible scenes and turning points. Explore different ways each scene could unfold.

02

Visual Language Map

Map the emotional journey across the film’s acts. Connect it to space, lenses, camera movement, colour and rhythm, so visual choices have a dramatic purpose.

In the field, return to both documents. What changed? Where is the protagonist now? Which scenes and visual choices still serve the film? Update the map and find the next direction.

Presented at the 10th ECM+LAB
FAM 2026 · Florianópolis, Brazil

Read the festival report
Arrange a workshop

About & contact

WORKING INTERNATIONALLY
Igor Virabov, documentary filmmaker
Igor Virabov

BEHIND
THE FILMS

I’m Igor Virabov, a documentary filmmaker and immigrant living in São Paulo.

My work is rooted in listening, proximity and long-term observation. I follow people as their lives change, giving the story time to take an unexpected direction.

Starting over in another country is part of my life and shapes the way I look at belonging, uncertainty and change. My filmmaking and teaching grow from that experience: preparing carefully, staying attentive and finding a direction again when the world shifts.

igor.virabov@gmail.com Instagram · @hotpron

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