RUSSIAN RESURRECTION FILM FESTIVAL 2018

RUSSIAN RESURRECTION FILM FESTIVAL 2018

2018 marks the 15-year anniversary for one of Australia’s and New Zealand’s most favourite film festivals, the Russian Resurrection Film Festival. This year’s program is shaping up to be bigger and better than ever!

The festival has released a sneak peek of the line-up confirming some of 2018’s most highly anticipated Russian films, which will screen in Australia and New Zealand this year.

Leading Russian actor Konstantin Khabensky’s latest films Sobibor and Selfie have both been confirmed along with a captivating new fantasy film The Last Warrior, figure skating melodrama Ice, a hilarious comedy about male strippers called Night Shift and Danila Kozlovsky’s directorial debut Coach, released just before this year’s World Cup in Russia.

“Russian Resurrection is thrilled to be celebrating our 15-year anniversary this year and is looking forward to showcasing the best of Russian cinema with audiences across Australia and New Zealand in November,” said Festival Director Nicholas Maksymow.

“We have already locked in a wonderful selection of new Russian films and will be announcing more in coming weeks.”

Following the success of the FIFA World Cup in Russia this year, the festival will be screening popular new 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, who starred in the blockbuster 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 mass breakout from the Sobibor extermination camp – the most successful attempt ever undertaken in such camps in World War II. New Russian historical drama Sobibor is dedicated to these events. The film is the highly anticipated directorial debut of actor Konstantin Khabensky in which he also stars along with leading Russian and Hollywood actors.

New sporting melodrama Ice was a huge hit at the Russian box office earlier this year. The film follows Nadya who always dreamt of being a figure skater. Her hard work, faith and perseverance pays 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.

On a much lighter note, join Max as he loses his job at the factory and in order to feed his family, he takes up the obscure job of a male stripper. The Kremlin can eat its heart out in this hilarious comedy, Night Shift.

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! Channelling classic fantasy stories like Harry Potter and the Chronicles of Narnia, this film is a must see for lovers of fantasy both young and old.

Directed by Lera Surkova, new drama Pagans will also screen at the XV Russian Resurrection Film Festival. 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. Amongst this family madness, a tragic love story of a teenage girl unfolds.

The Russian Resurrection Film Festival 2018 will screen exclusively at Luna Leederville from 15 – 21 November

The Russian Resurrection Film Festival is one of the largest, oldest and most respected Russian film festivals outside of Russia. The festival takes audiences on a thrilling journey into one of the world’s most diverse film cultures. From humble beginnings in 2004 screening in just three cities in Australia, the festival has grown dramatically in size and now screens in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Auckland in New Zealand.

To stay up to date with Russian Resurrection Film Festival news follow @RussianResurrectionFilmFest on Facebook and @RussianFilmFest on Instagram

Category: News