Apple TV Plus has ordered its first Russian-language original series, “Container,” Variety can exclusively reveal.
The series, which comes via a co-production deal with subscription-based streaming service Start, is a thriller starring “The Bourne Supremacy’s” Oksana Akinshina alongside Russian screen stars Filipp Yankovskiy (“The Three Musketeers”), Marusya Fomina (“Gold Diggers”) and Artem Bystrov (“Earthquake”).
Described as “bold” and “unflinching,” the series sees Akinshina play Sasha, a surrogate mother hiding a dangerous secret who reluctantly finds herself ensconced in the luxurious home of the rich family whose baby she is gestating. As Sasha navigates the privilege and politics of the super-rich, both her secrets and theirs threaten to collide.
The series was directed by Maksim Sveshnikov (“257 Reasons to Live”) from a screenplay written by Alexey Lyapichev (“257 Reasons to Live”). It is produced by Eduard Iloyan, Vitaly Shlyappo, Alexey Trotsyuk, Denis Zhalinsky and Mikhail Tkachenko.
“Container” premiered in Russia and Cis...
The series, which comes via a co-production deal with subscription-based streaming service Start, is a thriller starring “The Bourne Supremacy’s” Oksana Akinshina alongside Russian screen stars Filipp Yankovskiy (“The Three Musketeers”), Marusya Fomina (“Gold Diggers”) and Artem Bystrov (“Earthquake”).
Described as “bold” and “unflinching,” the series sees Akinshina play Sasha, a surrogate mother hiding a dangerous secret who reluctantly finds herself ensconced in the luxurious home of the rich family whose baby she is gestating. As Sasha navigates the privilege and politics of the super-rich, both her secrets and theirs threaten to collide.
The series was directed by Maksim Sveshnikov (“257 Reasons to Live”) from a screenplay written by Alexey Lyapichev (“257 Reasons to Live”). It is produced by Eduard Iloyan, Vitaly Shlyappo, Alexey Trotsyuk, Denis Zhalinsky and Mikhail Tkachenko.
“Container” premiered in Russia and Cis...
- 12/13/2021
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Major Russian distributor Central Partnership wraps up European Film Market (EFM) with a bunch of global sales. “Chernobyl”, a high-budget actioner directed by Danila Kozlovsky, goes to China to air on iQIYI, and will also travel to Taiwan and European territories.
“Chernobyl” is the first major Russian film dedicated to the disaster and its aftermath. The story follows fireman Alexey, accompanied by an engineer and a military diver, on a perilous mission to drain water from a reservoir under the burning reactor. They descend into the depths of the reactor building, prepared to sacrifice their own lives to prevent an even greater catastrophe. “Chernobyl” stars actor-turned-director Danila Kozlovsky (“Vikings”), Oksana Akinshina, Philipp Avdeev and others.
“We tried to tell a powerful story of love between particular people, in a particular family, that happened in the times of a horrifying global-scale disaster. We are not trying to appoint who’s guilty or give a verdict,...
“Chernobyl” is the first major Russian film dedicated to the disaster and its aftermath. The story follows fireman Alexey, accompanied by an engineer and a military diver, on a perilous mission to drain water from a reservoir under the burning reactor. They descend into the depths of the reactor building, prepared to sacrifice their own lives to prevent an even greater catastrophe. “Chernobyl” stars actor-turned-director Danila Kozlovsky (“Vikings”), Oksana Akinshina, Philipp Avdeev and others.
“We tried to tell a powerful story of love between particular people, in a particular family, that happened in the times of a horrifying global-scale disaster. We are not trying to appoint who’s guilty or give a verdict,...
- 3/12/2021
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Central Partnership clinched several new deals on the project during the EFM.
Following last week’s EFM, leading Russian distributor Central Partnership has announced several new deals on its big budget action/disaster feature Chernobyl, directed by Danila Kozlovsky.
The film has gone to platform iQIYI for China in what Central Partnership CEO Vadim Vereshchagin described as “a big step towards promoting Russian cinema to international markets and [improving] our strategic partnership with China.”
Further deals clinched during the EFM include French-speaking Europe (Kinovista), Taiwan (Moviecloud), Czech Republic and Slovakia (Joj). These follow on from already announced sales to the US (MPI Media Group), South Korea,...
Following last week’s EFM, leading Russian distributor Central Partnership has announced several new deals on its big budget action/disaster feature Chernobyl, directed by Danila Kozlovsky.
The film has gone to platform iQIYI for China in what Central Partnership CEO Vadim Vereshchagin described as “a big step towards promoting Russian cinema to international markets and [improving] our strategic partnership with China.”
Further deals clinched during the EFM include French-speaking Europe (Kinovista), Taiwan (Moviecloud), Czech Republic and Slovakia (Joj). These follow on from already announced sales to the US (MPI Media Group), South Korea,...
- 3/11/2021
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
With what was supposed to be the summer movie season now just another relic of this pandemic-blasted year, and the rest of 2020’s major film releases in a continuing state of flux, it’s important to note that there has still been a fairly steady stream of new films coming out, some in limited theatrical release but others largely available via video on demand and streaming services.
With that in mind, and with the customary “opening weekend” a rather fluid and ambiguous term as well, below is a rundown of films we’ve caught in the past month, along with information on where you can find and watch them. Some are good, some not so much, but your mileage may vary for each. The important thing to know is that movies are still coming out–just not always in the ways we expect.
She Dies Tomorrow
Although it was released back on Aug.
With that in mind, and with the customary “opening weekend” a rather fluid and ambiguous term as well, below is a rundown of films we’ve caught in the past month, along with information on where you can find and watch them. Some are good, some not so much, but your mileage may vary for each. The important thing to know is that movies are still coming out–just not always in the ways we expect.
She Dies Tomorrow
Although it was released back on Aug.
- 8/24/2020
- by Don Kaye
- Den of Geek
"Sputnik" is the new science fiction horror feature, directed by Egor Abramenko, starring Oksana Akinshina, Fedor Bondarchuk and Pyotr Fyodorov:
"...at the height of the 'Cold War', a 'Soviet' spacecraft crash lands after a mission gone awry, leaving the commander as its only survivor.
"After a renowned Russian psychologist is brought in to evaluate the commander's mental state, it becomes clear that something dangerous may have come back to Earth with him..."
Click the images to enlarge...
"...at the height of the 'Cold War', a 'Soviet' spacecraft crash lands after a mission gone awry, leaving the commander as its only survivor.
"After a renowned Russian psychologist is brought in to evaluate the commander's mental state, it becomes clear that something dangerous may have come back to Earth with him..."
Click the images to enlarge...
- 8/20/2020
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
Sputnik Directed By Egor Abramenko Oksana Akinshina (Lilya 4-ever), Fedor Bondarchuk (9th Company), And Pyotr Fyodorov (The Darkest Hour) Due to her controversial methods, young doctor Tatiana Yurievna is on the precipice of losing her medical license. Her career may not be over, though. After she’s recruited by the military, Tatiana …
The post Opens Today | Sputnik – 80’s-Set Russian Sci-Fi-Horror by Egor Abramenko | Opens 8/14 courtesy of IFC Midnight appeared first on Hnn | Horrornews.net.
The post Opens Today | Sputnik – 80’s-Set Russian Sci-Fi-Horror by Egor Abramenko | Opens 8/14 courtesy of IFC Midnight appeared first on Hnn | Horrornews.net.
- 8/18/2020
- by Adrian Halen
- Horror News
Summer of 1996. The booming ’90s cinematic box 0ffice was graced with the arrival of extraterrestrial beings in hovering unidentified flying objects that lingered over large cities across planet Earth. Independence Day took ideas of science fiction classics like War of the Worlds, Alien, and E.T. and combined them together for a popcorn movie that helped reimagine what stories of invaders from outer space could look and feel like. It’s a big, loud, fun science fiction spectacle.
Summer of 2020. Science fiction films have evolved. Stories of alien beings have morphed into manifestations of comic book characters or the reemergence of the Star Wars cinematic galaxy in popular culture. We’ve seen brand new films in the Alien and Predator movie galaxy, more Cloverfield alien monsters, and another journey 20 years after the original film release with Independence Day: Resurgence. Aliens are everywhere.
However, this abundance of stories has led to...
Summer of 2020. Science fiction films have evolved. Stories of alien beings have morphed into manifestations of comic book characters or the reemergence of the Star Wars cinematic galaxy in popular culture. We’ve seen brand new films in the Alien and Predator movie galaxy, more Cloverfield alien monsters, and another journey 20 years after the original film release with Independence Day: Resurgence. Aliens are everywhere.
However, this abundance of stories has led to...
- 8/17/2020
- by Monte Yazzie
- DailyDead
[Editor’s Note: The following story contains spoilers for IFC Midnight’s “Sputnik,” now available on VOD, digital, and in select theaters.]
While a space traveler’s greatest fear is typically what’s waiting out there in the great unknown, what they bring back to Earth could be much, much worse. That’s the premise of Russian filmmaker Egor Abramenko’s feature debut “Sputnik,” a sci-fi chiller with the stately echoes of Ridley Scott’s classic “Alien.” Set in the 1980s Cold War era, “Sputnik” blends creature-feature effects with heady extraterrestrial thrills. “Sputnik” is based on a proof-of-concept short Abramenko released in 2017 called “The Passenger” and, according to the director in a recent IndieWire interview, it’s unusual to see a sci-fi movie of such ambitious scale come out of Russia. Besides the one Russian name synonymous with soul-searching sci-fi, Andrei Tarkovsky, of course.
“We wanted to combine a very common setting for the Russian audiences, which is the U.
While a space traveler’s greatest fear is typically what’s waiting out there in the great unknown, what they bring back to Earth could be much, much worse. That’s the premise of Russian filmmaker Egor Abramenko’s feature debut “Sputnik,” a sci-fi chiller with the stately echoes of Ridley Scott’s classic “Alien.” Set in the 1980s Cold War era, “Sputnik” blends creature-feature effects with heady extraterrestrial thrills. “Sputnik” is based on a proof-of-concept short Abramenko released in 2017 called “The Passenger” and, according to the director in a recent IndieWire interview, it’s unusual to see a sci-fi movie of such ambitious scale come out of Russia. Besides the one Russian name synonymous with soul-searching sci-fi, Andrei Tarkovsky, of course.
“We wanted to combine a very common setting for the Russian audiences, which is the U.
- 8/17/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
We don’t get enough material set in the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The era is so fraught with mystery and intrigue, it benefits more than just spy thrillers. This weekend’s new release Sputnik, for example, manages to use the period for a science fiction / horror outing. The already potential laden field of space horror mixes with a creature feature to form something pretty unique and often a lot of fun. Things fall apart a bit at the end, but this is a great little under the radar title. You’d do well to give it a look, especially if you’re keen on genre offerings. The movie is sci-fi horror picture, set in the former Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War. Cosmonauts Konstantin Veshnyakov (Pyotr Fyodorov) and Kirill Averchenko (Aleksey Demidov) are returning home from space when something interacts with their capsule. Veshnyakov...
- 8/16/2020
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
You may have heard his name uttered by Kanye West or Migos in songs but Martin Margiela isn’t necessarily a household name when it comes to fashion — but it should be. One of the most elusive designers in the fashion industry, there are barely any photos of him on the internet, but his work speaks for itself. In the Oscilloscope documentary, Martin Margiela: In His Own Words, filmmaker Reiner Holzemer takes us behind the scenes of the career of the titular avant-garde.
With the docu, Margiela breaks his no-interview policy and aversion to being in the public eye as Holzemer puts the spotlight on the “Banksy of fashion”. He worked as Jean Paul Gaultier’s assistant and was the creative director at Hermès before he started his own fashion house. For the first time, Margiela reveals his drawings, notes, and personal items in this intimate profile of his vision...
With the docu, Margiela breaks his no-interview policy and aversion to being in the public eye as Holzemer puts the spotlight on the “Banksy of fashion”. He worked as Jean Paul Gaultier’s assistant and was the creative director at Hermès before he started his own fashion house. For the first time, Margiela reveals his drawings, notes, and personal items in this intimate profile of his vision...
- 8/14/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
The intense, often nerve-wracking, yet thoroughly enjoyable genre film Sputnik is also the debut for Russian director Egor Abramenko. This is a film that sports echoes of other classics of the horror/science fiction ilk like Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979), or even John Carpenter’s remake of The Thing (1982). Abramenko, however, displays a singular style with an impressive first feature that portends potentially greater things yet to come.
The film first introduces young doctor Tatiana Yurievna (Oksana Akinshina) who has been summoned before a medical review board for her less-than-orthodox treatment techniques (despite their success) and may have her license revoked. Her maverick spirit, however, intrigues the Russian military who asks her to consult on a case involving recently returned from space cosmonaut Konstantin Sergeyevich (Pyotr Fyodorov) who seems to have developed a particularly nasty symbiotic condition that manifests itself in the shrouded darkness of the night. Of course, the...
The film first introduces young doctor Tatiana Yurievna (Oksana Akinshina) who has been summoned before a medical review board for her less-than-orthodox treatment techniques (despite their success) and may have her license revoked. Her maverick spirit, however, intrigues the Russian military who asks her to consult on a case involving recently returned from space cosmonaut Konstantin Sergeyevich (Pyotr Fyodorov) who seems to have developed a particularly nasty symbiotic condition that manifests itself in the shrouded darkness of the night. Of course, the...
- 8/14/2020
- by Mike Tyrkus
- CinemaNerdz
Doctor Tatiana Yurievna (Oksana Akinshina) is under review for unconventional practices. She is approached by Semiradov (Fedor Bondarchuk) from the Russian military. They have a special case that needs her kind of thinking. Sensing that her medical career is on the brink she goes with Semiradov to a remote research base to see Cosmonaut Konstantin Sergeyevich (Pyotr Fyodorov). Sergeyevich was on a mission returning to Earth when ground control lost contact with the capsule on its last day. No sooner has Tatiana begun her investigation when she learns the horrible truth. Something came back with the cosmonauts in that capsule and it lives inside Konstantin. Can Tatiana save Konstantin before it's too late? Don't worry. We have not given away anything in that first...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 8/13/2020
- Screen Anarchy
Though the Russian film “Sputnik” is a sci-fi movie that begins in the vastness of space, the goal for Arman Yahin and his VFX team at Main Road Post was a narrow one: to build out the alien hitchhiker that one of the cosmonauts unwittingly brings home.
The film centers on Konstantin Sergeyevich, the lone survivor of a mysterious space accident, who returns with a creature inside him that emerges at night and can reenter his body. First set to run in the Tribeca Film Festival, the movie, a record-breaking VOD hit in Russia, debuts via IFC Midnight in select theaters and on demand Aug. 14.
Konstantin is being held at a military medical facility when Tatiana Yurievna is brought in to assess him and the creature. He’s an “interesting case,” the colonel in charge tells her. The military intends to use the alien as a weapon — but will they control it,...
The film centers on Konstantin Sergeyevich, the lone survivor of a mysterious space accident, who returns with a creature inside him that emerges at night and can reenter his body. First set to run in the Tribeca Film Festival, the movie, a record-breaking VOD hit in Russia, debuts via IFC Midnight in select theaters and on demand Aug. 14.
Konstantin is being held at a military medical facility when Tatiana Yurievna is brought in to assess him and the creature. He’s an “interesting case,” the colonel in charge tells her. The military intends to use the alien as a weapon — but will they control it,...
- 8/13/2020
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
With a clear reverence for sci-fi horror landmarks, principally Alien, the new Russian feature Sputnik looks to crash-land into the genre with high ambitions. Unfortunately, for first-time writer-director Egor Abramenko, emphasizing associations to Ridley Scott’s sci-fi juggernaut is more an act of cannibalism than a guiding light of inspiration. While Sputnik succeeds in its striking visual effects and an intriguing central creature, it sputters out from the gravitational pull of amateur pacing and a wildly messy execution.
The film begins in 1982, with two cosmonauts returning from a mission amidst the stars, drifting over a digital Earth that showcases Abramenko’s knack for convincing visual effects. However, things quickly go awry when something appears to board the vessel, which plummets to Earth and leaves one cosmonaut mauled to death and the other, Konstantin (Pyotr Fyodorov), shell-shocked and wracked with apparent amnesia.
With Konstantin kept under study in a private facility in Kazakhstan,...
The film begins in 1982, with two cosmonauts returning from a mission amidst the stars, drifting over a digital Earth that showcases Abramenko’s knack for convincing visual effects. However, things quickly go awry when something appears to board the vessel, which plummets to Earth and leaves one cosmonaut mauled to death and the other, Konstantin (Pyotr Fyodorov), shell-shocked and wracked with apparent amnesia.
With Konstantin kept under study in a private facility in Kazakhstan,...
- 8/13/2020
- by Mike Mazzanti
- The Film Stage
As the cinema of celestial brutes and space-set horrors goes, Ridley Scott’s 1979 classic “Alien” still retains a gold-standard status among its kind, continuing to lend its DNA to various sci-fi quests beyond the atmosphere. The latest film to ingest a piece of its eerie spirit — albeit, with varying degrees of success — is “Sputnik,” a tense genre exploit by debuting Russian director Egor Abramenko.
A claustrophobic character study with gripping set pieces, serviceable spatters of gross-out B-movie gore and plenty of red-lit corridors, “Sputnik” doesn’t quite deliver upon the juicy potential of its paranoia-induced Cold War-era backdrop. Still, Abramenko maintains the film’s finite appeal throughout, mostly thanks to a familiar aura and a charismatic lead performance by Oksana Akinshina, a fine surrogate for the tough-as-nails heroine Ellen Ripley.
Despite its limitations — among them is an inelegantly designed extraterrestrial antagonist and simplistic special effects created on a small budget...
A claustrophobic character study with gripping set pieces, serviceable spatters of gross-out B-movie gore and plenty of red-lit corridors, “Sputnik” doesn’t quite deliver upon the juicy potential of its paranoia-induced Cold War-era backdrop. Still, Abramenko maintains the film’s finite appeal throughout, mostly thanks to a familiar aura and a charismatic lead performance by Oksana Akinshina, a fine surrogate for the tough-as-nails heroine Ellen Ripley.
Despite its limitations — among them is an inelegantly designed extraterrestrial antagonist and simplistic special effects created on a small budget...
- 8/12/2020
- by Tomris Laffly
- Variety Film + TV
A quick question: How much do you like Alien? Let’s rephrase this slightly: Do you dig Ridley Scott’s masterpiece so much that you’d be perfectly fine watching something that owes a massive debt to it, just to kill time between your 999th and 1000th viewing of the original 1979 groundbreaker? The differences would be subtle — say, an alien slithering out of a host’s throat rather than bursting through his chest, and instead of resembling a walking, hissing penis-head with retractable chrome jaws, it would look more like...
- 8/12/2020
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
The alien is the least of the horrors in Egor Abramenko’s mostly gripping suspense, set in a dour 80s army facility with an unwanted visitor
‘We sent two into space. Three came back.” At first, no one notices the extraterrestrial stowaway when a Soviet rocket lands back on Earth; the creature is tucked out of sight, getting comfy in the oesophagus of one of the two astronauts on board. But it makes itself known at a medical facility, slithering out of the man’s mouth, expanding, before chomping on the brains of a nurse. Russian director Egor Abramenko makes his feature debut with this mostly gripping movie, a supremely confident 1980s-set sci-fi refrigerated with elements of a Soviet-era thriller and scares straight out of Alien. Its female hero has the mental toughness of Ripley, too.
She is controversial psychiatrist Tatyana (Oksana Akinshina), who is under investigation for treating a...
‘We sent two into space. Three came back.” At first, no one notices the extraterrestrial stowaway when a Soviet rocket lands back on Earth; the creature is tucked out of sight, getting comfy in the oesophagus of one of the two astronauts on board. But it makes itself known at a medical facility, slithering out of the man’s mouth, expanding, before chomping on the brains of a nurse. Russian director Egor Abramenko makes his feature debut with this mostly gripping movie, a supremely confident 1980s-set sci-fi refrigerated with elements of a Soviet-era thriller and scares straight out of Alien. Its female hero has the mental toughness of Ripley, too.
She is controversial psychiatrist Tatyana (Oksana Akinshina), who is under investigation for treating a...
- 8/12/2020
- by Cath Clarke
- The Guardian - Film News
“Sputnik” is a word that means, most prominently, two things: various Soviet spacecraft which began with the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth, and the origin of the word from Russian meaning “companion” or “fellow traveler.” This is a title that’s perfectly fitting to director Egor Abramenko’s first feature, the sci-fi horror film Sputnik, about two cosmonauts sent into orbit at the height of the Cold War, who return to Earth with a third passenger.
Set during a time of uncertainty and in a state on the brink of collapse, the film opens with the end of a space mission in 1983. Commander Konstantin (Pyotr Fyodorov) and co-pilot Kirill (Aleksey Demidov) are executing their descent when they’re hit with unexpected turbulence and power failure. Looking through the small, circular windows of their pod, they realize they’re not alone in the darkness. The film then cuts to...
Set during a time of uncertainty and in a state on the brink of collapse, the film opens with the end of a space mission in 1983. Commander Konstantin (Pyotr Fyodorov) and co-pilot Kirill (Aleksey Demidov) are executing their descent when they’re hit with unexpected turbulence and power failure. Looking through the small, circular windows of their pod, they realize they’re not alone in the darkness. The film then cuts to...
- 8/11/2020
- by Sara Clements
- DailyDead
“Alien” casts a big shadow on “Sputnik,” a slick Cold War alien invasion thriller from first-time director Egor Abramenko, so much that it threatens to swallow the movie whole. Fortunately, Abramenko sneaks in a fresh angle before the chest-bursting extraterrestrial mayhem takes charge. Launching with a slick and eerie first act, “Sputnik” initially feels like the kind of slow-burn laboratory thriller that rarely gets made these days, yet feels timelier than ever. Russian machinations? Medical phenomena that confound modern science? You don’t say!
Sadly, the analogy doesn’t go much further than that. But made all the more intriguing by the period backdrop that carries connotations of its own. It’s 1983, and after a trio of cosmonauts slam back to earth under dubious circumstances in the dark of night, one winds up dead, another in a coma, and a third can’t remember what happened. That’s Konstantin Veshnyakov...
Sadly, the analogy doesn’t go much further than that. But made all the more intriguing by the period backdrop that carries connotations of its own. It’s 1983, and after a trio of cosmonauts slam back to earth under dubious circumstances in the dark of night, one winds up dead, another in a coma, and a third can’t remember what happened. That’s Konstantin Veshnyakov...
- 8/10/2020
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Want a reason to check out Egor Abramenko's sci-fi horror flick Sputnik when it opens on August 14th? Then check out this 'crash landing' clip below. The clip happens right at the beginning of the film, but not until there is an equally cool and chilly opening scene up in orbit. But this clip really shows how slick a filmmaker Abramenko is, how well he manages light and illumination. There is evidence of violence in the clip so just a heads up. Not like our poor cosmonaut there. Due to her controversial methods, young doctor Tatiana Yurievna is on the precipice of losing her medical license. Her career may not be over, though. After she’s recruited by the military,...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 8/10/2020
- Screen Anarchy
The 80’s-Set Russian Sci-Fi-Horror Sputnik Opens August 14. Check Out This Trailer:
Russia, 1983 – Cold War tensions at their peak. A terrifying scene is discovered at the landing site of spacecraft Orbit-4. The commander is dead, the flight engineer in coma. The third crew member, Valery Basov, has survived, but he has lost his memory from the horrific experience and cannot shed light on the cause of the accident. In a secluded government facility, under the vigilant watch of armed guards, psychologist Tatiana Klimova (Oksana Akinshina) must cure the astronaut’s amnesia and unravel the mystery. In the process, she learns that Orbit-4 may have carried back an alien parasite that threatens to consume them all.
The Critics love Sputnik:
“Magnetic…wipes the floor with many of it’s Hollywood counterparts.”
Alex Saveliev, Film Threat
“Excellent, gory, nail-biting.”
Lance Vlcek, JoBlo’s Arrow In The Head
“One of the most suspenseful science-fiction films in years.
Russia, 1983 – Cold War tensions at their peak. A terrifying scene is discovered at the landing site of spacecraft Orbit-4. The commander is dead, the flight engineer in coma. The third crew member, Valery Basov, has survived, but he has lost his memory from the horrific experience and cannot shed light on the cause of the accident. In a secluded government facility, under the vigilant watch of armed guards, psychologist Tatiana Klimova (Oksana Akinshina) must cure the astronaut’s amnesia and unravel the mystery. In the process, she learns that Orbit-4 may have carried back an alien parasite that threatens to consume them all.
The Critics love Sputnik:
“Magnetic…wipes the floor with many of it’s Hollywood counterparts.”
Alex Saveliev, Film Threat
“Excellent, gory, nail-biting.”
Lance Vlcek, JoBlo’s Arrow In The Head
“One of the most suspenseful science-fiction films in years.
- 8/8/2020
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Sputnik – Chilling Sci-Fi Thriller Directed by Egor Abramenko | Opens 8/14 Courtesy of IFC Midnight!
Sputnik Directed by:Egor AbramenkoWritten by:Oleg Malovichko and Andrei ZolotarevStarring:Oksana Akinshina, Pyotr Fyodorov, Fedor Bondarchuk, and Anton Vasilev Due to her controversial methods, young doctor Tatiana Yurievna is on the precipice of losing her medical license. Her career may not be over, though. After she’s recruited by the military, Tatiana is brought …
The post Sputnik – Chilling Sci-Fi Thriller Directed by Egor Abramenko | Opens 8/14 Courtesy of IFC Midnight! appeared first on Hnn | Horrornews.net.
The post Sputnik – Chilling Sci-Fi Thriller Directed by Egor Abramenko | Opens 8/14 Courtesy of IFC Midnight! appeared first on Hnn | Horrornews.net.
- 8/8/2020
- by Adrian Halen
- Horror News
It's dark, creepy, Russian and now one of my most anticipated titles of the year. Meet Sputnik.
Written and directed by Egor Abramenko and expanded from the director's 2017 short film The Passenger, Sputnik stars Pyotr Fyodorov as Konstantin, the lone survivor of a spaceship incident. Oksana Akinshina is Tatyana, a doctor who has been brought in to observe the astronaut but what she doesn't initially know that becomes clear later is that Konstantin didn't come back alone and the government wants her to separate the parasite from the man. As expected, things go badly.
I couldn't not think of The Thing while watching the trailer for Sputnik but man if the trailer isn't great: sleek, dark, moody and haunting, featuring glimpses of a mo...
Written and directed by Egor Abramenko and expanded from the director's 2017 short film The Passenger, Sputnik stars Pyotr Fyodorov as Konstantin, the lone survivor of a spaceship incident. Oksana Akinshina is Tatyana, a doctor who has been brought in to observe the astronaut but what she doesn't initially know that becomes clear later is that Konstantin didn't come back alone and the government wants her to separate the parasite from the man. As expected, things go badly.
I couldn't not think of The Thing while watching the trailer for Sputnik but man if the trailer isn't great: sleek, dark, moody and haunting, featuring glimpses of a mo...
- 7/24/2020
- QuietEarth.us
"Sputnik" is the new science fiction horror feature, directed by Egor Abramenko, starring Oksana Akinshina, Fedor Bondarchuk and Pyotr Fyodorov:
"...at the height of the 'Cold War', a 'Soviet' spacecraft crash lands after a mission gone awry, leaving the commander as its only survivor.
"After a renowned Russian psychologist is brought in to evaluate the commander's mental state, it becomes clear that something dangerous may have come back to Earth with him..."
Click the images to enlarge...
"...at the height of the 'Cold War', a 'Soviet' spacecraft crash lands after a mission gone awry, leaving the commander as its only survivor.
"After a renowned Russian psychologist is brought in to evaluate the commander's mental state, it becomes clear that something dangerous may have come back to Earth with him..."
Click the images to enlarge...
- 7/22/2020
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
With all blockbusters pushed back indefinitely due to the pandemic, that means those looking for sci-fi spectacles and space epics, which often carry a hefty price tag, will have to sit tight. However, looking at the inventive world of indie filmmaking, some directors have delivered impressive scope on a tighter budget. One such example is Egor Abramenko, whose debut feature Sputnik will be arriving next month.
Starring Oksana Akinshina, Pyotr Fyodorov, Fedor Bondarchuk, and Anton Vasilev, the creature feature follows a doctor who is overseeing a cosmonaut who survived a mysterious space accident and has returned to Earth, albeit with something living inside him. Judging from this first trailer from IFC Midnight, it looks like a suspenseful Alien-esque thriller that has the makings of a late-summer sleeper hit.
See the trailer and poster below for the Tribeca and Sitges selection.
Due to her controversial methods, young doctor Tatiana Yurievna is...
Starring Oksana Akinshina, Pyotr Fyodorov, Fedor Bondarchuk, and Anton Vasilev, the creature feature follows a doctor who is overseeing a cosmonaut who survived a mysterious space accident and has returned to Earth, albeit with something living inside him. Judging from this first trailer from IFC Midnight, it looks like a suspenseful Alien-esque thriller that has the makings of a late-summer sleeper hit.
See the trailer and poster below for the Tribeca and Sitges selection.
Due to her controversial methods, young doctor Tatiana Yurievna is...
- 7/22/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
We're back with a new installment of Horror Highlights! In today's edition, we trailers for Coma, Shifter, Fear Pharm, and Sputnik:
Watch the Trailer for Coma: "After a tragic accident, a young architect wakes up in a dystopian world: Coma. Here, reality is made from the memories of people who have fallen into a comatose state. Cities, rivers and the sky all flow in and out of each other -fragmented and unstable just like our memories. The common laws of physics don't exist and nightmarish reapers roam the land spreading death. Having lost most of his own memory, the architect must develop new skills to survive and adapt to the chaos around him. On his search for a way back to reality, he joins a rogue group of fighters and discovers a secret that will affect their lives forever.
Written by: Nikita Argunov, Aleksei Grawitski, and Timofei Dekin...
Watch the Trailer for Coma: "After a tragic accident, a young architect wakes up in a dystopian world: Coma. Here, reality is made from the memories of people who have fallen into a comatose state. Cities, rivers and the sky all flow in and out of each other -fragmented and unstable just like our memories. The common laws of physics don't exist and nightmarish reapers roam the land spreading death. Having lost most of his own memory, the architect must develop new skills to survive and adapt to the chaos around him. On his search for a way back to reality, he joins a rogue group of fighters and discovers a secret that will affect their lives forever.
Written by: Nikita Argunov, Aleksei Grawitski, and Timofei Dekin...
- 7/22/2020
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
IFC Films has released the brand new trailer for Sputnik. Opening in theaters and VOD August 14, take a look below.
Russia, 1983 – Cold War tensions at their peak. A terrifying scene is discovered at the landing site of spacecraft Orbit-4. The commander is dead, the flight engineer in coma. The third crew member, Valery Basov, has survived, but he has lost his memory from the horrific experience and cannot shed light on the cause of the accident. In a secluded government facility, under the vigilant watch of armed guards, psychologist Tatiana Klimova (Oksana Akinshina) must cure the astronaut’s amnesia and unravel the mystery. In the process, she learns that Orbit-4 may have carried back an alien parasite that threatens to consume them all.
Director Egor Abramenko is an established award-winning director of commercials and music videos from Russia. Upon graduation from The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography in 2009, he worked extensively...
Russia, 1983 – Cold War tensions at their peak. A terrifying scene is discovered at the landing site of spacecraft Orbit-4. The commander is dead, the flight engineer in coma. The third crew member, Valery Basov, has survived, but he has lost his memory from the horrific experience and cannot shed light on the cause of the accident. In a secluded government facility, under the vigilant watch of armed guards, psychologist Tatiana Klimova (Oksana Akinshina) must cure the astronaut’s amnesia and unravel the mystery. In the process, she learns that Orbit-4 may have carried back an alien parasite that threatens to consume them all.
Director Egor Abramenko is an established award-winning director of commercials and music videos from Russia. Upon graduation from The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography in 2009, he worked extensively...
- 7/21/2020
- by Michelle Hannett
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
First-time Russian director Egor Abramenko has made a huge splash with his debut, the sci-fi horror flick Sputnik. We have seen it and we like it, quite a bit. Look for our review closer to its North American release this August. Today, a new trailer and poster have been released by it's distributor, IFC Midnight. Due to her controversial methods, young doctor Tatiana Yurievna is on the precipice of losing her medical license. Her career may not be over, though. After she’s recruited by the military, Tatiana is brought to a secure science research facility to assess a very special case, that of Konstantin Sergeyevich, a cosmonaut who survived a mysterious space accident and has...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 7/21/2020
- Screen Anarchy
"It appears there was an incident in space." IFC Films has unveiled a new official US trailer for Sputnik, a freaky alien horror thriller about a mysterious extraterrestrial lifeform that arrives inside a Russian space capsule. We featured other official trailers for this movie a few months back. After returning to Earth, the capsule's only survivor has brought something else with him. They try to keep him in quarantine, but as we know from the original Alien (and also real life) that won't hold him for long. Starring Oksana Akinshina, Fedor Bondarchuk, and Pyotr Fyodorov. After premiering in Russia earlier this year, the film has been getting mostly warm reviews from genre critics. The new poster (seen below) is also very cool. Worth a look. Here's the official US trailer (+ new poster) for Egor Abramenko's Sputnik, direct from IFC's YouTube: You can also watch the previous official trailers for Abramenko's Sputnik here,...
- 7/21/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
While a space traveler’s greatest fear is typically what’s waiting out there in the great unknown, what they bring back to Earth could be much, much worse. That’s the premise of Russian filmmaker Egor Abramenko’s feature debut “Sputnik,” a sci-fi chiller with the stately echoes of Ridley Scott’s classic “Alien.” Set in the 1980s, “Sputnik” blends creature-feature effects with heady extraterrestrial thrills. An official selection of the canceled 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, the movie debuts from IFC Midnight in select theaters and on VOD August 14. Watch the trailer for the film below.
Here’s the creepy synopsis: “Due to her controversial methods, young doctor Tatiana Yurievna is on the precipice of losing her medical license. Her career may not be over, though. After she’s recruited by the military, Tatiana is brought to a secure science research facility to assess a very special case, that of Konstantin Sergeyevich,...
Here’s the creepy synopsis: “Due to her controversial methods, young doctor Tatiana Yurievna is on the precipice of losing her medical license. Her career may not be over, though. After she’s recruited by the military, Tatiana is brought to a secure science research facility to assess a very special case, that of Konstantin Sergeyevich,...
- 7/21/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
In the weeks following the inaugural edition of the Key Buyers Event, a showcase for new Russian productions held in Moscow last fall, Roskino CEO Evgenia Markova reached out to scores of international guests who had made the trip to the Russian capital. After what was largely perceived as a successful event, in which dozens of Russian titles sold to foreign buyers, Markova wanted to understand what else the film promotion body could do to support the continued growth of the Russian industry.
One piece of advice stood out. “Not many Russian names are known abroad,” says Markova. The consensus among many of the buyers in attendance was that “this is definitely what [Roskino] should work on: you should promote your actors, your producers, your directors. You should show the world you exist.”
For the Key Buyers Event: Digital Edition, an online platform to showcase and promote Russian content that takes...
One piece of advice stood out. “Not many Russian names are known abroad,” says Markova. The consensus among many of the buyers in attendance was that “this is definitely what [Roskino] should work on: you should promote your actors, your producers, your directors. You should show the world you exist.”
For the Key Buyers Event: Digital Edition, an online platform to showcase and promote Russian content that takes...
- 6/10/2020
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Sputnik, the sci-fi thriller that would have been a Tribeca premiere were it not for the fest’s cancellation, has launched online in its native Russia ahead of its U.S. bow and is recording stellar viewership.
More than one million people have streamed the title since its release on April 23 across its three Svod homes, according to its producers. The film is playing on More.tv, Wink and Ivi, which are a mixture of subscription services and Tvod and are three of Russia’s biggest platforms. That makes it the top-performing title across those services for the past two years, surpassing all Hollywood and local releases.
The project is directed by first time helmer Egor Abramenko and is produced by Fedor Bondarchuk’s Moscow-based Art Pictures Studio. IFC Midnight secured North American rights to the pic back in April and will release stateside August 14.
Bondarchuk stars in the movie alongside Oksana Akinshina,...
More than one million people have streamed the title since its release on April 23 across its three Svod homes, according to its producers. The film is playing on More.tv, Wink and Ivi, which are a mixture of subscription services and Tvod and are three of Russia’s biggest platforms. That makes it the top-performing title across those services for the past two years, surpassing all Hollywood and local releases.
The project is directed by first time helmer Egor Abramenko and is produced by Fedor Bondarchuk’s Moscow-based Art Pictures Studio. IFC Midnight secured North American rights to the pic back in April and will release stateside August 14.
Bondarchuk stars in the movie alongside Oksana Akinshina,...
- 6/1/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
"It appears there was an incident in space." Russia has been churning out some damn good sci-fi in the last few years. Sputnik is one of their latest offerings - a freaky alien horror thriller about a mysterious lifeform that arrives inside a Russian space capsule. After returning to Earth, the capsule's only survivor has brought something else with him. They try to keep him in quarantine, but as we know from the original Alien (and also real life) that won't hold him for long. Starring Oksana Akinshina, Fedor Bondarchuk, and Pyotr Fyodorov. This just opened in Russia last month, and it will debut in the Us in August later this summer. The alien creature is revealed in this trailer, but apparently there's more secrets than just that. Check it out. Here's the first two official trailers (+ two posters) for Egor Abramenko's Sputnik, direct from YouTube: The lone...
- 5/21/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
IFC Midnight has secured the North American rights to Egor Abramenko’s directorial debut feature Sputnik, a sci-thriller set to premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, which has been postponed due to the current global health crisis. Oksana Akinshina, Fedor Bondarchuk, Pyotr Fyodorov, and Anton Vasilev star in the film, which IFC will release on August 14.
Inspired by Abramenko’s short film The Passenger, the plot takes place at the height of the Cold War when a Soviet spacecraft crash lands after a mission gone awry, leaving the commander as its only survivor. After a renowned Russian psychologist is brought in to evaluate the commander’s mental state, it becomes clear that something dangerous may have come back to Earth with him.
More from DeadlineIFC Picks Up North American Rights To Contained Arctic Chiller 'Centigrade' Based On True StoryIFC Midnight Takes North American Rights To Fantasia Horror 'The Wretched'ifc Midnight...
Inspired by Abramenko’s short film The Passenger, the plot takes place at the height of the Cold War when a Soviet spacecraft crash lands after a mission gone awry, leaving the commander as its only survivor. After a renowned Russian psychologist is brought in to evaluate the commander’s mental state, it becomes clear that something dangerous may have come back to Earth with him.
More from DeadlineIFC Picks Up North American Rights To Contained Arctic Chiller 'Centigrade' Based On True StoryIFC Midnight Takes North American Rights To Fantasia Horror 'The Wretched'ifc Midnight...
- 4/3/2020
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
As evidenced in Stephen King's short story "I Am the Doorway," sometimes it's not what you encounter in space that's scary, but what you bring back with you. Such is the case in Egor Abramenko’s feature-length debut Sputnik, which has been acquired for North American distribution by IFC Midnight, with a release planned for August 14th:
Press Release: New York, NY – IFC Midnight announced today that it is acquiring North American rights to Egor Abramenko’s directorial debut Sputnik from Xyz Films. Abramenko’s sci-fi thriller short film The Passenger played in the 2017 Fantastic Film Festival in Austin, and was the inspiration for his feature debut. The film stars Oksana Akinshina who debuted in Lukas Moodysson’s award-winning film Lilya 4-ever, alongside Fedor Bondarchuk, Pyotr Fyodorov, and Anton Vasilev. The script was written by Oleg Malovichko and Andrei Zolotarev. Producing is Vodorod Pictures, Art Pictures Studio, Hype Film,...
Press Release: New York, NY – IFC Midnight announced today that it is acquiring North American rights to Egor Abramenko’s directorial debut Sputnik from Xyz Films. Abramenko’s sci-fi thriller short film The Passenger played in the 2017 Fantastic Film Festival in Austin, and was the inspiration for his feature debut. The film stars Oksana Akinshina who debuted in Lukas Moodysson’s award-winning film Lilya 4-ever, alongside Fedor Bondarchuk, Pyotr Fyodorov, and Anton Vasilev. The script was written by Oleg Malovichko and Andrei Zolotarev. Producing is Vodorod Pictures, Art Pictures Studio, Hype Film,...
- 4/3/2020
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Art Pictures Distribution handles international sales.
IFC Midnight has acquired North American rights from Xyz Films to Russian sci-fi thriller Sputnik, which was set to receive its world premiere in Tribeca Film Festival’s Midnight section later this month.
Oksana Akinshina from Lilya-4-Ever stars alongside Fedor Bondarchuk in Egor Abramenko’s directorial debut based on his acclaimed 2017 Fantastic Film Festival short The Passenger. Art Pictures Distribution handles international sales.
The story takes place at the height of the Cold War as a Russian psychologist is assigned to treat a cosmonaut whose Soviet spaceship has crashed-landed on Earth. As the...
IFC Midnight has acquired North American rights from Xyz Films to Russian sci-fi thriller Sputnik, which was set to receive its world premiere in Tribeca Film Festival’s Midnight section later this month.
Oksana Akinshina from Lilya-4-Ever stars alongside Fedor Bondarchuk in Egor Abramenko’s directorial debut based on his acclaimed 2017 Fantastic Film Festival short The Passenger. Art Pictures Distribution handles international sales.
The story takes place at the height of the Cold War as a Russian psychologist is assigned to treat a cosmonaut whose Soviet spaceship has crashed-landed on Earth. As the...
- 4/3/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
Central Partnership has picked up international sales rights to “Chernobyl. Abyss,” directed by Danila Kozlovsky, and produced by Alexander Rodnyansky and Sergey Melkumov, who were both Oscar-nominated for Andrey Zvyagintsev’s “Leviathan” and “Loveless.”
The drama is the first major Russian feature film to focus on the aftermath of the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power station, the topic of HBO’s Emmy-winning miniseries “Chernobyl.”
As well as directing, Kozlovsky, one of Russia’s best-known actors, seen in History’s “Vikings,” AMC’s “McMafia” and Berlin competition title “Dovlatov,” also stars in the film, alongside Oksana Akinshina (“Lilya 4-Ever”) and Filipp Avdeev (“Corrections Class”).
Rodnyansky and Melkumov’s Non-Stop Production will produce alongside Kozlovsky’s Dk Entertainment. The film is set to be released on Oct. 8, 2020.
The drama is the first major Russian feature film to focus on the aftermath of the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power station, the topic of HBO’s Emmy-winning miniseries “Chernobyl.”
As well as directing, Kozlovsky, one of Russia’s best-known actors, seen in History’s “Vikings,” AMC’s “McMafia” and Berlin competition title “Dovlatov,” also stars in the film, alongside Oksana Akinshina (“Lilya 4-Ever”) and Filipp Avdeev (“Corrections Class”).
Rodnyansky and Melkumov’s Non-Stop Production will produce alongside Kozlovsky’s Dk Entertainment. The film is set to be released on Oct. 8, 2020.
- 11/6/2019
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Stars: Alexandra Drozdova, Alexander Molochnikov, Anna Slyu, Oksana Akinshina, Kuzma Kotrelev, Miroslav Pentsov, Anastasia Kuimova, Oleg Vasilkov, Valery Kukhareshin | Written by Evgeny Kolyadintsev | Directed by Pavel Sidorov
Following the death of her brother under mysterious circumstances, and haunted by a series of disturbing dreams, a young woman is persuaded to take part in an experiment at the institute of somnology, where she and 3 other patients are immersed in a joint lucid dream. But after dawn, they wake up in a completely different reality, which is worse than any nightmare…
The first thing that strikes you about Quiet Comes the Dawn are the visuals. Visually stunning, the film, at times, looks like a Cronenberg movie – there are stark hospital visuals a la Dead Ringers and Rabid and the concrete building that houses the sleep institute resembles the setting of Shivers. But that’s not all, the eerie scenes set in Sveta...
Following the death of her brother under mysterious circumstances, and haunted by a series of disturbing dreams, a young woman is persuaded to take part in an experiment at the institute of somnology, where she and 3 other patients are immersed in a joint lucid dream. But after dawn, they wake up in a completely different reality, which is worse than any nightmare…
The first thing that strikes you about Quiet Comes the Dawn are the visuals. Visually stunning, the film, at times, looks like a Cronenberg movie – there are stark hospital visuals a la Dead Ringers and Rabid and the concrete building that houses the sleep institute resembles the setting of Shivers. But that’s not all, the eerie scenes set in Sveta...
- 10/5/2019
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Despite what you might expect, Hipsters is not a snide mumblecore comedy set in Brooklyn featuring a cast of skinny jeans-wearing ironically bespectacled twenty-somethings with feigned aloofness and a chic political awareness. No, Hipsters is in fact something far more joyful and unexpected. Set in 1955 Moscow, this vibrant musical-romance centers on a group of young people who willfully reject the (communist) party line in favor of dazzling glad rags and American jazz music. But in the midst of Cold War era Russia, favoring American pop culture isn’t just subversive; it’s treason. And in a grim world painted by poverty and cloaked in gray, these decadent deviants proudly stand out in plaid suits, poodle skirts and pompadours so bright they are practically radioactive! They laugh loudly and flaunt their differences, drawing fascination and ire from the Communist Union of Youth, who regularly raid their underground parties, tackling hipsters to...
- 10/25/2011
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Hey Los Angeles… grab your popcorn, because Landmark Theatres has announced it’s Fall-Winter film calender for the Nuart Theatre. It highlights limited-run films to avid cinephiles in Los Angeles, offering an essential guide for audiences to discover exciting films that may never enjoy the publicity of nationwide exposure. Included in the mix of programming are documentaries, reissues, features from a variety of foreign countries and other edgy, alternative cinema.
Nuart Theatre, 11272 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles
Showtimes and information: (310)281-8223
http://www.LandmarkTheatres.com
Features Friday, October 14 . Thursday, October 20
The Man Nobody Knew: In Search Of My Father, CIA Spymaster William Colby
A son’s riveting look at a father whose life seemed straight out of a spy thriller, The Man Nobody Knew uncovers the secret world of legendary CIA spymaster William Colby, who rose through the ranks of “The Company” and soon was involved in covert operations in...
Nuart Theatre, 11272 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles
Showtimes and information: (310)281-8223
http://www.LandmarkTheatres.com
Features Friday, October 14 . Thursday, October 20
The Man Nobody Knew: In Search Of My Father, CIA Spymaster William Colby
A son’s riveting look at a father whose life seemed straight out of a spy thriller, The Man Nobody Knew uncovers the secret world of legendary CIA spymaster William Colby, who rose through the ranks of “The Company” and soon was involved in covert operations in...
- 9/28/2011
- by Melissa Howland
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
"Les Zazous"; with Anton Shagin, Oksana Akinshina, Maksim Matveev, Evgeniya Khirivskaya, Igor Voynarovskiy and Ekaterina Vilkova; directed by Valéri Todorovski.
By Ali Naderzad - October 26, 2010
Colors, rock’n’roll, Chet Baker and electric-loud suits and skinny ties. Must be Arthur Laurents country. In fact it’s the Soviet Union circa halfway through the Cold War and it’s a Valéri Todorovski movie called “Les Zazous” which will hopefully come to a theatre near you, though likely under a different name (official release date in Russia was actually 2008 but the film had a single and unique screening in Paris recently at Forum des Images). Todorovski’s influences are many but ‘Zazous’ does not replicate—no dissonant cliches or annoying double-entendres. Just the story, folks, and it’s a rousing one. Mels is a Moscow student and a passive member of the Soviet Youths who go out on raids against the Zazous,...
By Ali Naderzad - October 26, 2010
Colors, rock’n’roll, Chet Baker and electric-loud suits and skinny ties. Must be Arthur Laurents country. In fact it’s the Soviet Union circa halfway through the Cold War and it’s a Valéri Todorovski movie called “Les Zazous” which will hopefully come to a theatre near you, though likely under a different name (official release date in Russia was actually 2008 but the film had a single and unique screening in Paris recently at Forum des Images). Todorovski’s influences are many but ‘Zazous’ does not replicate—no dissonant cliches or annoying double-entendres. Just the story, folks, and it’s a rousing one. Mels is a Moscow student and a passive member of the Soviet Youths who go out on raids against the Zazous,...
- 10/26/2010
- by Screen Comment
- Screen Comment
Howdy y’all. Excuse the twang. I’m just back from Nashville (last night was their closing night) but now I have already plunged headfirst into freelance work for the Tribeca Film Festival. I miss my Film Experience baby but I’ll be back to regular posting duties on May 1st. I had hoped to write up several of the features I saw in Nashville to give you a better picture of this trip to the longest running film festival in the south but we’ll have to cover those films as they emerge on DVD or theatrical instead. For now a quick dashed off note about the festival’s main slate.
a poster for Applaus hangs over the moviegoing crowd
Narrative Competition
The winner was a blast of color and song, a Russian musical actually. The plot was weirdly reminiscent of John Waters Cry Baby only gender-flipped with a...
a poster for Applaus hangs over the moviegoing crowd
Narrative Competition
The winner was a blast of color and song, a Russian musical actually. The plot was weirdly reminiscent of John Waters Cry Baby only gender-flipped with a...
- 4/23/2010
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
From director Nikolay Lebedev, who brought you Oksana Akinshina's nude ass in Wolfhound, come at least two more nude asses in "romantic" as they call it (judging by the trailer more like erotic) thriller Фонограмма Страсти (direct translation: The Record of Passion).
The synopsis tells that it will be a story about the girl who fell in love with a guy, who was listened by her in some spying organization and who is going to be killed.
The movie will be released on 11st February this year.
The synopsis tells that it will be a story about the girl who fell in love with a guy, who was listened by her in some spying organization and who is going to be killed.
The movie will be released on 11st February this year.
- 1/20/2010
- Screen Anarchy
I confess, looking back, that I have no great generalizations to make about the movies that came along this decade. Except for this: There were more films of extraordinary and inspiring quality than I can count -- or include on this list. Without any trouble at all, I could easily have compiled a Top 100 list. Yet there's something about that magical arbitrary number 10 that focuses you, disciplines you, forces you to ask yourself what matters. Here, in order of preference, are the movies of the last 10 years that thrilled, moved, delighted, fascinated, and meant the most to this critic. They're...
- 12/25/2009
- by Owen Gleiberman
- EW.com - The Movie Critics
Here I am. Where are you? I love you. I miss you.
Lukas Moodysson woefully neglected (at least in North America) new film starring Michelle Williams, Gael Garcia Bernal and Marife Necesito (a wonderful Filipino actress who is the real heart and soul of the film) steps back from flirtations with pornographic explicitness (A Hole in My Heart) or the baffling bauble of Container and takes on the large task of trying to understand family bonds in the 21st century. A film as timely as Up In The Air or the 2006 film it is inevitably compared to: Alejandro González Iñárritu's Babel (if only because of the world-hopping story and Gael Garcia Bernal who is, more or less, in the Brad Pitt role), it may be even better than either of those two because of its quiet (distant) empathic confusion. While it eventually comes to a boil, for the most part,...
Lukas Moodysson woefully neglected (at least in North America) new film starring Michelle Williams, Gael Garcia Bernal and Marife Necesito (a wonderful Filipino actress who is the real heart and soul of the film) steps back from flirtations with pornographic explicitness (A Hole in My Heart) or the baffling bauble of Container and takes on the large task of trying to understand family bonds in the 21st century. A film as timely as Up In The Air or the 2006 film it is inevitably compared to: Alejandro González Iñárritu's Babel (if only because of the world-hopping story and Gael Garcia Bernal who is, more or less, in the Brad Pitt role), it may be even better than either of those two because of its quiet (distant) empathic confusion. While it eventually comes to a boil, for the most part,...
- 12/17/2009
- Screen Anarchy
Tina Mabry's "Mississippi Damned," an independent American production, won the Gold Hugo as the best film in the 2009 Chicago International Film Festival, and added Gold Plaques for best supporting actress (Jossie Thacker) and best screenplay (Mabry). It tells the harrowing story of three black children growing up in rural Mississippi in circumstances of violence and addiction. The film's trailer and an interview with Mabry are linked at the bottom.
Kylee Russell in "Mississippi Damned"
The win came over a crowed field of competitors from all over the world, many of them with much larger budgets. The other big winner at the Pump Room of the Ambassador East awards ceremony Saturday evening was by veteran master Marco Bellocchio of Italy, who won the Silver Hugo as best director for "Vincere," the story of Mussolini's younger brother. Giovanna Mezzogiorno and Filippo Timi won Silver Hugos as best actress and actor,...
Kylee Russell in "Mississippi Damned"
The win came over a crowed field of competitors from all over the world, many of them with much larger budgets. The other big winner at the Pump Room of the Ambassador East awards ceremony Saturday evening was by veteran master Marco Bellocchio of Italy, who won the Silver Hugo as best director for "Vincere," the story of Mussolini's younger brother. Giovanna Mezzogiorno and Filippo Timi won Silver Hugos as best actress and actor,...
- 10/23/2009
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
What's better than a Conan-style sword and sorcery epic? One written by a woman! QuietEarth reports that Wolfhound (Волкодав из рода Серых) is a Russian epic fantasy movie based on the first novel of a tetralogy by Maria Semyonova, and it is coming to DVD August 4th, 2009! Starring Aleksandr Bukharov and Oksana Akinshina, it is high action and high fantasy! And yes, that Is a cute flying bat pet he has!
The last remaining member of a slaughtered tribe pursues vengeance against all odds for his family’s murder. When he discovers his target is a brutal, Sauron-like tyrant, his personal quest grows into an all-out war to rescue a nation and exact revenge.
Watch the trailer...
Average: Select ratingSuckySeen WorseDecentPretty good!Awesome No votes yet...
The last remaining member of a slaughtered tribe pursues vengeance against all odds for his family’s murder. When he discovers his target is a brutal, Sauron-like tyrant, his personal quest grows into an all-out war to rescue a nation and exact revenge.
Watch the trailer...
Average: Select ratingSuckySeen WorseDecentPretty good!Awesome No votes yet...
- 5/23/2009
- by Superheidi
- Planet Fury
Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival
AMSTERDAM -- Epic sword-and-sorcery fantasy "Wolfhound" is essentially "Conan the Barbarian" meets "Lord of the Rings" Russian-style. While the vibe is too squarely old-fashioned and action sequences too uninspired for the movie to appeal to audiences beyond its Slavic market, it's easy to see why the film clicked in the motherland with at least one sequel in the offing. The novel upon which it's based -- the first part of a trilogy -- deals with the heroic exploits of slave-turned-warrior Wolfhound (imposing, furrow-browed Aleksandr Bukharov) in an unspecified medieval-ish time in an unspecified locale. Never has rural Slovakia looked quite so much like Middle Earth.
The opening reel is pure "Conan": Young Wolfhound watches as his family is slaughtered by a marauding clan of monstrous villains. This sparks a standard-issue revenge plot, which eventually leads the grown-up Wolfhound -- accompanied at all times by his pet bat -- a scene-stealingly cute, flightless critter known as Ragged Wing -- to become protector of Princess Elen (Oksana Akinshina), whose mystical powers the forces of darkness are keen to harness for evil ends.
It's interesting to see a current Russian film presenting royal blood as magically sacred, but whatever the imperialistic subtexts (and "Wolfhound" is otherwise mercifully light on ideological baggage) the gloomily pretty Akinshina ("The Bourne Supremacy", "Lilya 4-Ever") elevates proceedings whenever she's onscreen. Her best scene is a percussively scored sequence that intercuts the princess' preparations for a hazardous journey with a blood sacrifice being simultaneously performed elsewhere by her dastardly foes.
Not even the pleasingly over-the-top climax, which features a malevolent being that resembles a tornado of stones, battled by Wolfhound with what might be called a Wagnerian light saber, comes close to that scene's primal power. Writer-director Nikolai Lebedev mars the numerous mano-a-mano fight-scenes with choppy editing and a fondness for closeups. Otherwise, he is content to ape his cinematic antecedents, giving the impression that whatever the West can do, a resurgent Russia may not be able to match via spectacle or FX but can certainly exceed in terms of earnest bombast.
WOLFHOUND
A Central Partnership production
Sales: Central Partnership
Credits:
Director: Nikolai Lebedev
Writer: Nikolai Lebedev
Based on the novel by: Mariya Semyonoya
Producers: Sergei Danielyan, Ruben Dishdishyan, Yuri Moroz
Directors of photography: Irek Hartowicz, Valeri Martynov
Production designer: Lyudmila Kusakova
Music: Theo Green, Aleksei Rybnikov
Costume designer: Svetlana Titova
Editors: Lidia Milioti, Pavel Andryosjenko
Cast:
Wolfhound: Aleksandr Bukharov
Princess Elen: Oksana Akinshina
Luchezar: Igor Petrenko
Evrikh: Artyom Semakin
Ogre: Aleksandr Domgarov
Running time -- 136 minutes
No MPAA rating...
AMSTERDAM -- Epic sword-and-sorcery fantasy "Wolfhound" is essentially "Conan the Barbarian" meets "Lord of the Rings" Russian-style. While the vibe is too squarely old-fashioned and action sequences too uninspired for the movie to appeal to audiences beyond its Slavic market, it's easy to see why the film clicked in the motherland with at least one sequel in the offing. The novel upon which it's based -- the first part of a trilogy -- deals with the heroic exploits of slave-turned-warrior Wolfhound (imposing, furrow-browed Aleksandr Bukharov) in an unspecified medieval-ish time in an unspecified locale. Never has rural Slovakia looked quite so much like Middle Earth.
The opening reel is pure "Conan": Young Wolfhound watches as his family is slaughtered by a marauding clan of monstrous villains. This sparks a standard-issue revenge plot, which eventually leads the grown-up Wolfhound -- accompanied at all times by his pet bat -- a scene-stealingly cute, flightless critter known as Ragged Wing -- to become protector of Princess Elen (Oksana Akinshina), whose mystical powers the forces of darkness are keen to harness for evil ends.
It's interesting to see a current Russian film presenting royal blood as magically sacred, but whatever the imperialistic subtexts (and "Wolfhound" is otherwise mercifully light on ideological baggage) the gloomily pretty Akinshina ("The Bourne Supremacy", "Lilya 4-Ever") elevates proceedings whenever she's onscreen. Her best scene is a percussively scored sequence that intercuts the princess' preparations for a hazardous journey with a blood sacrifice being simultaneously performed elsewhere by her dastardly foes.
Not even the pleasingly over-the-top climax, which features a malevolent being that resembles a tornado of stones, battled by Wolfhound with what might be called a Wagnerian light saber, comes close to that scene's primal power. Writer-director Nikolai Lebedev mars the numerous mano-a-mano fight-scenes with choppy editing and a fondness for closeups. Otherwise, he is content to ape his cinematic antecedents, giving the impression that whatever the West can do, a resurgent Russia may not be able to match via spectacle or FX but can certainly exceed in terms of earnest bombast.
WOLFHOUND
A Central Partnership production
Sales: Central Partnership
Credits:
Director: Nikolai Lebedev
Writer: Nikolai Lebedev
Based on the novel by: Mariya Semyonoya
Producers: Sergei Danielyan, Ruben Dishdishyan, Yuri Moroz
Directors of photography: Irek Hartowicz, Valeri Martynov
Production designer: Lyudmila Kusakova
Music: Theo Green, Aleksei Rybnikov
Costume designer: Svetlana Titova
Editors: Lidia Milioti, Pavel Andryosjenko
Cast:
Wolfhound: Aleksandr Bukharov
Princess Elen: Oksana Akinshina
Luchezar: Igor Petrenko
Evrikh: Artyom Semakin
Ogre: Aleksandr Domgarov
Running time -- 136 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 4/23/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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