In an epic 28-part project, David Urban will travel across the length and breadth of the world’s biggest country, Russia, to film every UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Russian Federation.
In an epic 28-part project, David Urban will travel across the length and breadth of the world’s biggest country, Russia, to film every UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Russian Federation.
101 years on from the anniversary of the Russian Revolution, and with the world’s eyes on the country during the FIFA World Cup, Urban’s journey will take him from one World Heritage Site to the next.
Starting off in Kaliningrad’s Curonian Spit, he will finish the journey high in the Russian Far East on the untouched nature reserve of Wrangel Island.
On the route, Urban will take in the great cities of the west, Moscow and St Petersburg, the largest building in the world made entirely of wood (nuts and bolts included), the oldest city in Russia built 5,000 years ago, the snow-capped volcanoes of Kamchatka and a pristine island in the Arctic thought to be the last home and refuge of the woolly mammoth. The sites provide a narrative on the planet’s development spanning several millennia; Urban will travel by car, plane and train to chart them all.
Russia boasts some of the most dazzling cultural and natural displays on Earth, rarely discussed and almost never seen, few videos exist of the sites. Urban will film his journey and update followers with weekly uploads to YouTube. Fans will also be able to follow the adventure live in a WhatsApp group where they can discuss and debate with him what he could do next and how to do it.
Urban says of the trip:
"I am thrilled to get this chance to travel across Russia and document these sites of huge cultural significance and beauty. Promoting and thus preserving them is of the utmost importance. I will be attempting the journey with my friend and executive producer of the programme, Nathan Kent. We've known each other over 15 years so I am hoping that helps when we come under the inevitable stress and pressure.”
David Urban is a 26-year-old film-maker and journalist, formerly employed by The Daily Telegraph newspaper in London and the BBC. Urban follows in the footsteps of his father, Stuart , a BAFTA award winning film writer, director and producer. Urban (junior) was born in London but has Slavic roots on both sides of the family. His mother, Daniça Bezanov-Urban was born in Sombor, Serbia and paternal grandfather, Harry , was from Ivano-Frankovsk, now Ukraine, formerly known as Stanisławów under the Soviet Union.
“Incidentally, this will be the third consecutive World Cup tournament I will have been in the host country for, following South Africa in 2010 and Brazil in 2014, though for different reasons this time around! Less football, more heritage. With the world’s media descending on the country for the football, I will provide a counterprogramming focus celebrating Russia’s significant cultural and natural heritage.”
Urban begins his expedition in May and aims to finish by September, 2018.