Russia, 2008, 93 min Social drama
Presented by STB
Director Igor Voloshin
Screenplay Olga Larionova
Producer Sergei Selianov
Director of photography Dmitri Iashonkov
Art Director Pavel Parkhomenko
Composer Discreet encounter
Starring Olga Sutulova, Maria Shalaeva, Artur Smolyaninov, Mikhail Evlanov, Andrei Khabarov
Awards: ‘Best Directorial Debut' 19th Sochi Film Festival ‘Kinotavr'
Grand Prix of 4th Sevastopol IFF
synopsis
20 year old Alissa decides to leave Moscow for St. Petersburg. She moves in with a young couple, Val and her boyfriend Valera the Dead. Val works as a bartender in a nightclub. She is tough, outspoken and independent. The only person that she cares about in this world is her boyfriend. Suddenly Val finds herself in a situation where she realises that the only person she can genuinely trust is her new neighbour, Alissa. This is a very simple story about love and betrayal, and ultimately about a friendship between Alissa and Val - two girls living in one city. An impressive debut work from a young and innovative director. The film features audacious costumes and sets and is a truly festive visual experience.
Click here to view a trailer in Russian
creators
Igor Voloshin
Director
Igor Voloshin is an actor, director, scriptwriter and director of photography. Born in 1974 in Sevastopol (now in the Ukraine), Igor first worked as a shorts and documentary filmmaker, and was awarded prestigious national and international prizes in both genres. In 2004 he received the ‘Triumph' award for his documentary ‘Bitch' and his short ‘Hunting for rabbits'. His 2005 documentary Lips' was premiered at the Rotterdam IFF. His debut feature film ‘Nirvana' is already a huge critical and box office success in Russia.
actors
Olga Sutulova (Alissa)
Born in 1980, Olga graduated from VKIG acting faculty. She made her debut in the widely successful Russian TV series ‘Waiting Hall' in 1998. Since then she has acted in 8 films, including ‘The Arena', ‘Atlantida', ‘The Night is Bright' and ‘Leningrad'.
Maria Shalaeva (Val)
Born in 1981, Maria completed an acting course in VGIK (All State Institute of Cinema). Maria received her first award in 2001 as ‘Best Student Performance' for the part of Masha in ‘Tomorrow is my Birthday'. This part also brought her a special mention from the Jury of the Sochi Film Festival ‘Kinotavr'. However, her truly breakthrough role was in Anna Melikyan's ‘Mermaid', an internationally acclaimed romantic comedy. Maria's touchingly open and honest performance was honoured by a ‘Best Actress' NIKA in 2007.
Back to the main programme at the Russian Film Festival 2008