Review: Sobibor

Superficially the story of one of the worst Nazi death camps in the history of the holocaust, this is a story of extraordinary courage. Not only were Nazi death camp victims tortured and worked to death, they were brainwashed into thinking they had no alternative. The power structure was able to exert such terror as to deny prisoners their ability to use their own minds. First it denied them their will, then their lives. Continue reading “Review: Sobibor”

Heroes on the Edge: An Interview with Alexei Uchitel

Alexei Uchitel

Alexei Uchitel is the leading Russian director whose features regularly receive awards at international and domestic festivals. He was born to the family of the acclaimed documentary filmmaker Efim Uchitel, who is known for his chronicles about Leningrad’s blockade during World War II. By following the footsteps of his father, he started his career as a documentary filmmaker and, among others, produced his documentary Rock (1987), which is still considered the most representative portrayal of the underground rock-n-roll culture in the late Soviet Union. Being versatile in genre and style, he equally excels in drama, teen comedy, biopic, action thriller, and period features. In all his films he poignantly explores mysterious aspects of human psychology with utmost realistic precision and dramatism. Continue reading “Heroes on the Edge: An Interview with Alexei Uchitel”

Russian Film Week ‘18: Sobibor

It was hard being a hero of the Soviet Motherland. Alexander Pechersky’s service during WWII was indeed truly heroic. The Jewish Red Army officer-conscript was instrumental leading the mass escape from the Sobibor concentration camp. In later years, Pechersky wanted to continue to fight against his National Socialist captors, but the Soviet Union denied him exit permission to testify against any accused war criminals, including the celebrated Eichmann trial. He was also dismissed from his position during the anti-Semitic “Rootless Cosmopolitan” campaign. It is worth keeping the frustrations of his later life in mind when viewers revisit the triumph of the uprising he sparked in Konstantin Khabenskiy’s Sobibor, Russia’s official foreign language Oscar submission, which screens as part of Russian Film Week in New York. Continue reading “Russian Film Week ‘18: Sobibor”

Director About New Film (in Russian)

Алексей Учитель и Авдотья Смирнова на открытии RFW-2018

Авдотья Смирнова: как написать речь для Льва Толстого

Режиссер о своем новом фильме «История одного назначения»

В Нью-Йорке началась Неделя российского кино (Russian Film Week, или RFW). В залах Школы визуальных искусств (SVA Theater) в манхэттенском районе Челси демонстрируются 14 новых российских фильмов разных жанров, а также лирическая комедия «Прогулка», которой исполнилось 15 лет. Continue reading “Director About New Film (in Russian)”

2018 Russian Film Week in New York

Cherry Orchard Festival (USA) and Rock Studio Films (Russia) are proud to present the 2018 Russian Film Week in New York – the showcase of independent and commercial films that represents the dynamic landscape of Russian filmmaking today. The event, which will take place in New York City December 8-14, 2018 at the SVA Theatre (333 W 23rd St, Manhattan), will include film screenings, discussions and Q&As with renowned Russian film directors, actors, and producers, as well as panels with journalists, and VIP receptions. Continue reading “2018 Russian Film Week in New York”

A Preview Of Russian Film Week In New York

Russian Film Week in New York 2018, presented by Russia’s Rock Studio Films and the Cherry Orchard Festival, kicks off Saturday, December 8 at the SVA Theater and runs through December 14. During that time, 15 Russian films ranging from historical epics to intimate dramas, quirky comedies to insightful documentaries, will be screened. I was able to preview four of the films on offer, including Russia’s submission for this year’s Best Foreign-Language Film Academy Award. As someone who has unfortunately not watched many Russian films not directed by Eisenstein or Tarkovsky (so, you know, hardly anything contemporary), I was excited to see what the modern Russian filmmaking world has to offer. Read on to find out for yourself. Continue reading “A Preview Of Russian Film Week In New York”

Russian Film Week 18: Hoffmaniada

Hoffmaniada

It surely would have been a classic, but instead it is one of the best-known unmade films not associated with Orson Welles. In Andrei Tarkovsky’s script for Hoffmaniana, German Romantic fantasist E.T.A. Hoffman would have interacted with characters from several of his classic stories. This is a very different film, even though it has a similar title and premise. Stylistically, this is not very Tarkovskian, obviously starting with the painstakingly rendered stop-motion animation. E.T.A. Hoffman and his alter-ego vividly come to life in Stanislav Sokolov’s Hoffmaniada, which screens as part of Russian Film Week in New York. Continue reading “Russian Film Week 18: Hoffmaniada”

Oscar Submission SOBIBOR Among 14 Russian Films at 2018 Russian Film Week in New York

Russian Film Week in New York – the showcase of independent and commercial films that represents the dynamic landscape of Russian filmmaking today returns to New York City December 8 to 14, 2018 at the SVA Theatre (333 W 23rd St, Manhattan). The events will include film screenings, discussions and Q&As with renowned Russian film directors, actors, and producers, as well as panels with journalists, and VIP receptions. Continue reading “Oscar Submission SOBIBOR Among 14 Russian Films at 2018 Russian Film Week in New York”