Classic Cinemas

Russian Resurrection Film Festival

Based on Anna Yablonskaya’s play, this film explores how religion and faith can be freely exercised without leading to extremism. The circumstances around the play are marred by tragedy: Yablonskaya, who adapted the play for the screen herself, was killed in the January 2011 Domodedovo airport bombing while en route to receive a film award. In a run-of-the-mill Russian apartment, drama breaks out when the grandmother’s Orthodox Christian beliefs rub up against the materialistic views of her teenage granddaughter whose heart has just been broken. Amongst this family madness, a tragic love story of a teenage girl unfolds. The stage play was lauded in Moscow and London for its tender, intricate portrayal of modern Russian women without delivering judgment on their shortcomings, and the film adaptation is equally attentive to its characters’ complexities. A fascinating and grounded insight into family relationships, religion and life struggles that every viewer can sympathise with, especially if they have a Russian family!

The film won the Special Jury Prize Moscow International Film Festival (2017, Russia, Moscow), nominated for Golden Eagle Award for Best Film (2017, Moscow) and screened at numerous festivals including Cottbus Festival, Germany (2017) and Milan International Film Festival (2018).