Arzamas. Lullaby (2026): Cast, Story and Release Details

Prepared by Movies Dock Editorial

Arzamas. Lullaby returns to the city of childhood through personal memory, archival testimony and staged images. Linking a private catastrophe with historical traces and Leo Tolstoy’s night in Arzamas, the documentary builds a layered portrait of a beautiful, scarred place where past and future blur together.

Arzamas. Lullaby is a Russian documentary built around a return to the city of childhood. Its 64-minute structure brings together personal recollection, historical evidence and the memory of a night associated with Leo Tolstoy.

Rather than presenting Arzamas through a single period, the film places several layers of time alongside one another. The result is an essayistic portrait of a city shaped by beauty, trauma and the persistence of memory.

Arzamas. Lullaby movie details

Story without spoilers

The documentary follows an author’s return to Arzamas, where private memories of a catastrophe meet the city’s historical traces. Present-day footage, archival testimony, staged images and personal recollections form distinct but connected layers.

A central point of reference is Leo Tolstoy’s night in Arzamas. His experience opens a dreamlike space in which the past encounters a future that has already become part of the author’s memory. Through these overlapping perspectives, Arzamas gradually emerges as both beautiful and marked by scars.

What to expect

Arzamas. Lullaby is presented as a documentary essay rather than a conventional narrative film. Its approach combines contemporary images of Arzamas with archival testimony, staged material and the author’s recollections.

The premise suggests a reflective, time-layered work concerned with place, memory, catastrophe and the way historical experience can remain present. Tolstoy’s night in the city adds a literary and dreamlike dimension to the film’s exploration of the past and future.

Cast and creative team

Arzamas. Lullaby is directed by Natalya Budkina. No cast or writers are listed in the supplied information.

Release and production context

Arzamas. Lullaby is a 2026 documentary in Russian with a runtime of 1 hour and 4 minutes. It is listed as released, with a release date of October 17, 2026. The supplied information does not specify a country or production company.

Movies Dock view

With its combination of personal memory, historical testimony and references to Leo Tolstoy, Arzamas. Lullaby takes an essayistic approach to the story of a place. Its focus is the layered identity of Arzamas: a city seen through childhood, catastrophe, history and the uneasy passage of time.

Film data:
TMDB