Tanya — Dau. Katya

Within the massive, controversial, and often dystopian artistic undertaking known as the —conceived by director Ilya Khrzhanovskiy— DAU. Katya Tanya (2020) stands out as a unique exploration of female subjectivity, intimacy, and the blurring lines between reality and simulation. Co-directed by Khrzhanovskiy and Jekaterina Oertel , this film (part of the 14-part DAU universe) focuses heavily on the psychological and emotional landscapes of its two protagonists within the suffocating atmosphere of the "Institute," a meticulously recreated Soviet scientific city in Kharkiv, Ukraine.

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Katya, often perceived as the more pragmatic and grounded of the pair, exists within the institute’s ecosystem as both a caretaker and a prisoner of its logic. She navigates the absurdities of Soviet scientific life with a weary, bureaucratic resignation. Tanya, in contrast, embodies raw, unfiltered emotion—jealousy, desire, and a desperate need for connection. Their interactions are rarely sentimental. Instead, they circle each other like magnets with reversed polarity: sometimes drawn together by shared isolation, more often repelled by the inherent competitiveness that the patriarchal, surveillance-state environment forces upon women. DAU measures the number of unique users who