The Russian Resurrection Film Festival is back this year for its 15th annual outing bringing the best in new Russian cinema to Australia and New Zealand.
The FIFA World Cup was of course held in Russia earlier this year, and the festival will open with the sports drama Coach. Directed by Danila Kozlovsky, who also plays the main role, Coach tells the story of a professional soccer player who, after being forced to leave the national team, takes on the job of coaching a small-town provincial team. The cast also includes Irina Gorbacheva, from Arrhythmia, one of the most popular films from last year’s program.
Selfie is a 2018 Russian thriller directed by Nikolay Khomeriki, and starring Konstantin Khabensky and Feodor Bondarchuk. The film follows popular writer and TV presenter, Vladimir Bogdanov, who has a look alike that takes over his life. This psychological thriller is not just about identity theft, but about something deeper – the doppelgänger tragedy, and how our online personas take up most of our lives.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the 1943 Sobibor extermination camp break-out – the most successful attempt in any World War II camp. The historical drama Sobibor is dedicated to these events. The film marks the highly anticipated directorial debut of Konstantin Khabensky. He stars alongside leading Russian and American actors.
On a much lighter note, Max loses his job at the factory and he becomes a male stripper in order to feed his family in the hilarious comedy, Night Shift.
Ice was a huge success at the Russian box office earlier this year. The film follows Nadya, an aspirational figure skater. Her hard work, faith, and perseverance pay off, but, just when her dreams are about to come true, the ice cracks beneath her. In order to survive, Nadya must dream-the-dream again and work harder than ever.
New fantasy film The Last Warrior will take audiences to the land of Belogorie, where Russian fairy tale characters, magic, and enchanted sword fights are part of everyday life. The film channels classic fantasy stories like Harry Potter and the Chronicles of Narnia.
Finally Pagans is the new drama from Lera Surkova. Based on the play by Anna Yablonskaya, the film is set inside the confines of an apartment and a drama is played out between family members, mixed with a hidden blind faith in a miracle, following a visit of a devout grandmother. Among this family madness, a tragic love story of a teenage girl unfolds.
The Russian Resurrection Film Festival 2018 cities and dates are:
Sydney: 01 to 11 November
Brisbane: 07 to 14 November
Melbourne: 09 to 18 November 2018
Canberra: 13 to 18 November 2018
Perth: 15 to 21 November
Auckland, NZ: 16 to 21 November 2018
Other reviews you might enjoy:
- CLOSED: Win tickets to the Russian Resurrection Film Festival
- Czech and Slovak Film Festival 2018 – movie preview
- Scandinavian Film Festival 2017 – preview
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television