Photo : DR
Screening of "The apocalypse has already happened"
Presentation of this documentary film by Stany Cambot on Tuesday, November 24, 2026, as part of the Close-Up and Documentary Film Month festivals.
Paris 19th
About
Synopsis
2018. In Vladimir Putin's "New Greater Russia", bulldozers threaten the garage cities, clandestine towns that developed during the collapse of the USSR. Here live the survivors of this apocalypse: the Garagniki. With them, we travel back in time and history into a parallel, underground, fantastic Russia...
Stany Cambot is an architect, visual artist, scenographer, and director.
He first worked at La Parole Errante with playwright Armand Gatti. Then, in 1998, he founded the group Echelle Inconnue, with whom he implements artistic work and experiments around obliterated cities and territories, creates several video installations and digital works, as well as short films on the mobile city in France, Algeria, Moldova, and Russia. He is the author-director of the documentaries Blouma (2019) and The apocalypse has already happened (2025). At the same time, he contributes to various academic or specialized publications, and wrote Nomadic Cities, Clandestine Histories of Modernity (2016), published by Eterotopia Editions..
Find the entire Close-Up festival program and the Documentary Film Month.
Our take on this event
Discover the hidden history of Russia's underground garage cities through this compelling lens. It offers a raw, haunting look at a makeshift world that exists in the shadows of the crumbling Soviet legacy. If you have an appetite for gripping social documentaries that challenge your perception of urban spaces, this screening is an absolute must.
On Tuesday, November 24, 2026, the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Paris-Belleville hosts a screening of the documentary "L'apocalypse a déjà eu lieu" by Stany Cambot. The film offers a deep dive into the hidden garage cities of Russia, where the "Garagniki" survivors dwell amidst the remnants of the fallen USSR. Blending historical inquiry with a surreal, subterranean aesthetic, the film examines forgotten urban landscapes. The event runs from 19:00 to 21:00 in the 19th arrondissement of Paris. Attendance is completely free of charge, inviting anyone interested in independent documentary filmmaking and urban sociology to join this evening session.
The École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Paris-Belleville invites you to a screening of Stany Cambot’s 2025 documentary, "L'apocalypse a déjà eu lieu," on November 24, 2026. The film uncovers the clandestine world of the garage cities, sprawling illegal urban structures that emerged in post-Soviet Russia. Through the stories of the Garagniki, the film explores a parallel, fantastic version of history shaped by those forced to live in the shadows of modern development.
Director Stany Cambot, an architect and artist known for his work with the collective Echelle Inconnue, has dedicated his career to analyzing obliterated territories and mobile cities across various countries. His unique background as both a filmmaker and a researcher provides a critical lens on the modern urban experience, as documented in his previous publications and video installations.
The screening will take place from 19:00 to 21:00 at 60 Boulevard de la Villette, 75019 Paris. This event is part of the Close-Up festival and the Mois du film documentaire programs. Admission is free for all attendees.
