RUSSIAN TRACE

The charm of the Russian culture spanning time and space is the keynote of this year’s program. Russian classical literature and the interplay with it is the running theme of the movies in the program.

This year we introduce two movies related to the screen versions of Anton Chekhov’s play “The Seagull”. In his “Water Lilies” the Korean director Chan-Ho Lee traces the fate of the main character – a young actress who has come to conquer the Seoul stage – in the context of Chekhov’s play, imbuing with Chekhovian motives not merely the episodes with the experimental theatre, but spreading the atmosphere beyond it to the interaction with friends, relatives and mentors. Allusions to “The Seagull” abound in the Turkish “Unfeeling” by ?zlem ?ingirlar focusing on the fate of the once popular actress going through the mid-life crisis and a young female immigrant from Iran whose private life is almost in ruins.

The Indian-Russian film “Snow Flower” by Gajendra Ahire is a typical example of a modern co-production when the search for common themes and plots results in the production of a movie which resonates with the cultures of both countries. The movie is notable for the remarkable work of the actress Chhaya Kadam who became widely known after the screening of the Indian movie “All We Imagine as Light” by Payal Kapadia at the Cannes IFF.

Quaint interconnections of the Russian and the Chinese can be seen in the ravishing comedic and phantasmagoric road movie “Starfall” by Zhang Dalei. Nostalgia for the happy Soviet times and the search for the country which no longer exists is a thrilling and enchanting experience not only for the towering Russian, but for his companions who gradually discover the mysterious Russian soul.

Nina Kochelyaeva