Winter 2015, Belarus. The presidential election is brewing. The omnipotent Lukashenko is running for a 5th. mandate at the head of this martyred country: devastated by World War II and then by Chernobyl. Kostia has just turned 18. He lives in the countryside, surrounded by his relatives: his grandmother who follows the presidential campaign on TV, the neighbor, a political opponent who restores the statues of the church, a photographer friend who...

The film, set in a Far-North industrial town in Russia, reveals the mechanism that entices human beings to voluntarily become a resource to be used by the state. Can a person ever be free in a society, where intricate and obscure structures take control of their mind-set from an early age? The film looks at the making of a Russian citizen from a fresh angle. The director’s subtle but demanding look reveals “the system” at work in the most benign-looking...

Kirill Serebrennikov's "AFTER LETO" tells the story of the epoch in which the characters of his feature film, "Leto", lived. Interviews with Natalia Naumenko, Artemy Troitsky, Igor Petrovsky, Seva Novgorodtsev and Andrei Tropillo delve into the Russian rock scene of the 80's, Soviet youth and the spirit of that time, allowing us to look behind the scenes of Russian culture during this era of Victor Tsoi and Mike Naumenko. The film's narration is laid...

One of the most acclaimed films of 2011, SILENT SOULS is a breathtakingly beautiful road-movie masterpiece. After the sudden death of his wife, tough guy Miron asks taciturn writer Aist to accompany him on a long journey to dispose of her remains according to the rituals of the Merya people—an ancient tribe from picturesque West-Central Russia. As the two friends traverse the evocatively bleak landscape with her body and a pair of caged birds, Miron...

Three young women face seven years in a Russian prison for a satirical performance in a Moscow cathedral. But who is really on trial in a case that has gripped the nation and the world beyond, three young artists or the society they live in? Official Selection at the **Sundance Film Festival** and the **SXSW Film Festival**.

Fleeing police, an Estonian fencer finds work as a teacher and introduces his students to the sport. The children now wish to compete in a national tournament, forcing him to choose between risking his safety or disappointing his students. Nominated for Best Motion Picture - Foreign Language at the **Golden Globes**. Nominated for Best Narrative Feature at the **Palm Springs International Film Festival**. *"An effective mix of underdog sports drama...

A gripping, modern twist on the classic noir thriller. Sixty-ish spouses Vladimir and Elena uneasily share his palatial Moscow apartment—he’s a wealthy businessman; she’s his dowdy former nurse. Estranged from his own wild-child daughter, Vladimir openly despises his wife’s freeloading son and family. But when a sudden illness and an unexpected reunion threaten the dutiful housewife’s potential inheritance, she must hatch a desperate plan…...

Winner of the Golden Lion at the **Venice International Film Festival**, THE RETURN is a mixture of psychological thriller and road movie, telling the story of two young brothers who must cope with the sudden and unexplained return of their father after a 12-year absence. The three embark on a road trip that becomes a background for self-discovery and the destruction of deeply rooted emotional investments. Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film...

Acclaimed director Vitaly Mansky (Putin’s Witnesses) makes himself at home with a man who helped to shape the 20th century: Mikhail Gorbachev. The Soviet leader, who brought about the fall of the Berlin Wall, was acclaimed as the architect of Glasnost and Perestroika, policies that gave the citizens of the Soviet Union—what Ronald Reagan called “the Evil Empire”—a chance to be free. At the same time, under his rule, the Chernobyl nuclear...

In spring 2014, following the annexation of Crimea, armed pro-Russian rebels stormed the city of Donetsk. Eventually, independence from Kiev was declared. This brave and human documentary explores the origins and evolution of the Donetsk People's Republic, diving into both hopeful beginnings and a present marked by destruction, hate and infighting.