Archives
Edition 2017
Films
1998, Nalchik, the North Caucasus, Russia. 24-year-old Ilana works in her father’s garage to help him make ends meet. One evening, her extended family and friends gather to celebrate the engagement of her younger brother David. Later that night, the young couple is kidnapped, and a ransom demand delivered. In this close-knit Jewish enclave, involving the police is out of the question. How will the family raise the money to save David? Ilana and her parents, each in their own way, will go as far as necessary, whatever the risks to themselves…
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Cast:
Darya Zhovner, Olga Dragunova, Artem Tsypin, Nazir Zhukov, Veniamin Kats -
Original Title:
Tesnota -
Country:
Russia -
Year:
2017 - 118'
Director
Kantemir Balagov
Kantemir Balagov (Nalchik, 1991) was born in the autonomous Russian Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria. He undertook studies in Economy and Law, and created several mini-series shot on a still camera until in 2011 he entered Alexandr Sokurov’s film school in his hometown. After directing several short films, armed with a feature script and Sokurov's help, Balagov was able to raise the necessary funds to make Closeness, which premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard 2017, earning him a FIPRESCI prize, and was the winner of LEFFEST’ 17 Best Film Award. Beanpole is his second feature film.
Director's statement
“Cinema is about movement: inside and outside. The movement of a story, and its characters… the movement of sound and image. This movement is about absolutely all its components, and it should never stop. Everything should keep moving to let the film take its course. This is the most important thing I learned during this work.” (Kantemir Balagov, director)
