1st Russian Filmfest comes to Cebu, screens 5 films

CEBU, Philippines - The finest of Russian Cinema, which will present various facets of Russian culture, heritage and history, will unreel today in Cebu through the first-ever Russian Film Festival.

Presented by Mosfilm Studios in cooperation with the Embassy of the Russian Federation, Film Development Council of the Philippines, Arts Council of Cebu Foundation, Ayala Center Cebu and the Philippines-Russia Friendship Society, Inc., the Festival will feature five classical and contemporary films produced by the biggest Russian filmmaker, Mosfilm Studios. 

To commemorate this 2010 the 65th anniversary of their victory in the Second World War to which the Soviet Union made tremendous contribution, a photo exhibition will also be mounted for the duration of the festival. 

The movies slated for screening are “The Star” (March 26, 7:30pm), which will be followed by a film discussion; “The Mirror” (March 27, 12nn); “Vanished Empire” (March 27, 2:30pm); “Ward No. 6” (March 27, 5pm); and “Agony” (March 27, 7:30pm).

The synopses of the films are as follows:

“The Star” takes place in the summer of 1944, when Red Army troops were fighting on the Polish border in hopes of halting Hitler’s advancing forces. In a desperate attempt to gain intelligence on a massive tank attack the Germans are allegedly orchestrating, a team of scouts with the radio code name “Star” is haphazardly put together from the ranks of the surviving soldiers. Though a series of encounters with the enemy quickly follows, the rag-tag group of men is able to broadcast the details of future army tactics and troop movements even as they are annihilated in a brutal battle with the German troops. The Russian soldiers are given posthumous medals for bravery in 1964. 

“The Mirror” is a non-narrative autobiographical film-poem that blends scenes of childhood memory with newsreel footage and contemporary scenes examining the narrator’s relationships with his mother, his ex-wife and his son. The intensity of the childhood scenes in particular is so hypnotic that questions of the film’s alleged impenetrability dissolve under the impact of moment after moment of the most visually stunning, rhythmically captivating filmmaking imaginable. 

“Agony” follows the final months of 1916 up to the murder of Rasputin, whose effect on the people around him is shown almost as hypnotic. The film avoids taking a moral stance towards him – breaking not only with Soviet history but also with how he was regarded by people near the court at the time, some of whom regarded him as a debilitating figure.

“Ward No. 6” is based on a real-life incident and centers around the head doctor of an asylum who winds up as the asylum patient. Lonely, and estranged, reflecting Doctor Andrey Ragin is one of the focal characters in the work of Chekhov and the entire world literature of the 20th century. The screenplay is an adaptation of Chekhov’s strory. Preserving the storyline, the authors deliberately moved the scene into the present. Shooting of the film was done in a real asylum, in a novel semi-documentary manner. 

“Vanished Empire” depicts the heyday of the Soviet State and its height of power, which marks the staring point of its collapse as well. The film’s story takes place in Moscow in the 1970’s. Its plot unfolds around the love triangle between two young men and a girl who study at the same university. They argue, make up, and face their first disappointments and victories. While busy with their personal lives and loves, they miss foreseeing that the country in which they were born and live will soon disappear from the map.

The Russian Film Festival 2010 is one of the biggest events being implemented in preparation for the 35th anniversary on June 2, 2011 of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Russian Federation and the republic of the Philippines. 

The Festival is offered free to the public on March 26 & 27 at Ayala Onstage on a first-come, first-seated basis up to maximum theater capacity. The Films will have English subtitles.