The Russian Film Week returns to cinemas in London and across the UK on 28 November after being forced to go virtual last year because of the pandemic. The festival will open with the UK red carpet premiere of Captain Volkonogov Escaped by Natasha Merkulova and Aleksey Chupov held at the iconic Odeon Luxe Leicester Square and followed by the traditional RFW Kaspersky Opening Party at W Hotel. The film received high praise by critics during its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival earlier this year, where it was the only Russian film in the festival’s main programme.
The opening gripping thriller is one of 42 movies on the festival line up (23 feature films and 19 short films). The full programme features 12 UK premieres and 5 international premieres: Russian Film Week | MOVIES A-Z
In 2021, the festival received 404 applications for participation. The final selection represents the genre diversity of the Russian film industry, spanning drama, comedy, historical films, thrillers, action movies, melodramas and documentaries.
Audiences will have access to both in-person and digital programming: for the duration of the RFW 2021, short films will be available to watch via the RFW online platform (soon on www.russianfilmweek.org). All movies of the RFW2021 will be shown in their original language with English subtitles.
The Russian Film Week culminates with the Golden Unicorn Awards ceremony held at the Theatre Royal Haymarket on 5 December 2021 with a red-carpet ceremony and a theatrical performance followed by a closing party. It will celebrate achievements of Russian cinematography and international filmmakers creating Russian-themed films. The awards have two separate juries: an international and a Russian jury, providing a unique opportunity to recognise both Russian and foreign films through a cross-cultural lens.
A renowned British film critic Anna Smith, Chair of the 2021 judges, said: “As a critic, I’ve been enjoying watching rich, rewarding work from Russia, from soul-searching contemporary dramas to challenging period thrillers. I was delighted to be asked to be President of the jury – though to be honest, they had me at the words Golden Unicorn.”
Filip Perkon, the General Producer of the Russian Film Week, explained the opening movie choice, “After two unorthodox years in a pandemic, our opening night movie questions the whole essence of normality and asks where the world will be going next. The film is timely, showing us in a genius but offbeat way, how it could turn out, and that each of us must take personal responsibility for the world and that siding with good or bad is a personal choice.”
The Casting Bridge International Forum, held annually as part of Russian Film Week in the UK, will take place on 1-2 December in London.
RFW2021 PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS
Far Eastern Golgotha by Julia Sergina depicts a critical moment in the life of a taxi driver from an endangered city in the Far East of Russia, as he starts a YouTube channel to document evidence of disenfranchisement and total poverty and he soon gathers a team of supporters.
Palmyra by Ivan Bolotnikov (in Arabic and Russian with English subs) follows a widower from Dagestan who searches for his run-away daughter. She has escaped to Syria to “battle with the word of vices”. Will father’s love win the battle against fanaticism?
Petrov’s Flu by Kirill Serebrennikov, the celebrated Russian stage and screen director. It is a hallucinatory romp through post-Soviet Russia, and a visually arresting experience: rough, funny, violent and psychedelic, yet tender and poetic. The film competed for the Palme d’Or at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.
Sin / IL Peccato by Andrei Konchalovsky is a drama starring Alberto Testone as Michelangelo. Although widely considered a genius by his contemporaries, he is reduced to poverty, depleted by his struggle to finish the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. When his commissioner Pope Julius II dies, Michelangelo becomes obsessed with sourcing the finest marble to complete his tomb. The artist’s loyalty is tested when Leo X, of the rival Medici family, ascends to the papacy and charges him with a lucrative new commission – the façade of the San Lorenzo basilica. Written and directed by Andrei Konchalovsky, IL PECCATO (SIN) is a gripping reflection on the agony and ecstasy of individual greatness, and the profound humanity behind the legend of the Renaissance. In Italian with English subtitles.
Doctor Liza by Oksana Karas takes viewers through a day in the life of Doctor Elizaveta Glinka, one of Russia’s most beloved palliative care specialists. In December 2016, Dr Glinka died when her plane crashed over the Black Sea.
The North Wind by Renata Litvinova is a fantasy drama set in a magical time when a great matriarchy reigned: women of an influential clan ruled the territory of the Northern Fields and lived in anticipation of love.
Sockeye Salmon. Red fish is an eco-documentary by Dmitriy Shpilenok and Vladislav Grishin about species of wild salmon from the Pacific Ocean. Only once does this species return to fresh waters of the Kamchatka peninsula – to spawn, start the circle of life, and die. Year after year, this inexhaustible resource has been naturally restored but fish populations are in danger because of poaching and unsustainable practices. We may find ourselves facing the unimaginable humans exhausting the inexhaustible!
Captain Volkonogov Escaped is an allegorical drama is set in 1930s Leningrad, where Stalin’s purges are in full swing and everyone is a suspect. It tells a story of an obedient law enforcer on the run: in his attempt to escape purges Volkonogov tries to find a way to repent, but his time is running out.
SCHEDULE AND ACCREDITATION:
· For media requests, interviews and press accreditation, please, contact Elena Leo at leo@russianfilmweek.org
· Further screenings and events information will be regularly updated at http://www.russianfilmweek.org/
The event is organised by
Filip Perkon (Perkon Productions Ltd.), Synergy Corporation, supprted by Gazprom Marketing & Trading and Blavatnik Family Foundation.
Opening and Online Partner – Kaspersky.