Festival opening ceremony, Opening Film: THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS BEAUTIFUL, Presentation of Marina Razbezhkina's Master's Program

The Swamp, Running the Country Path, Kamchatka

River of Life

Victor Astafyev. The Merry Soldier

Nekrasov. Life in the Trenches

Directed by: Alexei Shishov (1956-2010), Yelena Yakovich

Studio: RAKORD-TV

An idol of many generations, Victor Nekrasov had written, perhaps, the best book about war, "In the Trenches of Stalingrad", had become the youngest laureate of the Stalin award, and had ended up living out his days in exile in Paris. The film features interviews with Nekrasov and unique footage of his performances in Moscow and Paris. The directors, Alexei Shishov and Yelena Yakovich, are laureates of both the Second and Third festivals of Russian Documentary Film in New York for their works "The World after Auschwitz" and "The Golden Age of Ernst Neizvestny" as well as TEFI award winners for their film "Walking with Brodsky".

An Unfinished Conversation. Mikhail Kazakov

Directed by: Petr Shepotinnik

Studio: "Culture" TV channel

The film is constructed around interviews with Mikhail Kozakov, filmed in various periods of his life. All of them are very personal reflections of the wonderful actor and director, an intelligent and sophisticated man. The meaning of life, poetry, and his relationship with the acting profession are reflected as well. His thoughts are clear and penetrating. He speaks as if he is talking to himself - so natural and spontaneous are his intonations. He thinks out loud about things that have worried him throughout his entire life. Now his "unfinished conversation" will never be finished. On April 22nd, 2011, Mikhail Kozakov passed away.

Lyric. Andrey Vozkesensky

Director: Petr Shepotinnik

Studio: "Culture" TV channel
This film is dedicated Andrey Voznesensky. This is the last footage of the poet reading his works before his death. In the interviews, Voznesensky, who has already mostly lost his voice, tells about his feelings on the beginning of the 21st century, and how he sees the future of Russia. The film was made in 2008, but in accordance with the poet's wishes was only shown after his death. It premiered in Moscow in February of 2011. This is its American premiere.

Points of Tenderness, Anna Netrebko – West-Eastern Diva
 
Points of Tenderness
30 min.
Directed by: Ivan Tverdovsky

Studio: VGIK, Tochka Zrenia film studio
Winner of festivals "Message to Man", "ARTKino" (Main Prize), "Rossia" (Special Jury Prize). A film about an actress who doesn't act. Through documentary film she attempts to dot all the i's of her life. This film is a prose by a young director about a young woman, who attempts to find herself and her place in the world.


Anna Netrebko - West-Eastern Diva
30 min.
Directed by: Anna Mitrokhina

Producers: Yuri Linkevich, Dmitry Kuznetsov

Studio: Dve Tochki
This film is a dual portrait of a striking, deep and multifaceted personality, and a mature master of the highest degree. Anna Netrebko remembers her childhood and her life choices, and shares her views on modern opera, her professional secrets, and the way she raises her son Tiago. Anna's colleagues, stage partners, friends and family - her father Yuri Netrebko, sister Natalia, the artistic director of the Mariinsky Theater Valery Gergiev, director of Vienna opera Ion Hollender, Roberto Alagna, Massimo Giordano, and others talk about Anna's uniqueness and her talent as a performer.

Artists of Odessa
Directed by: Dmitry Khavin (USA)

Financed by: CEC ArtsLink (USA)
A nostalgic look from New York director Dmitry Khavin at the homeland of his ancestors. The viewer sees Odessa as it was seen by Babel, Zhabotinsky, Eisenstein, Kandinksy, and others. Modern artists, actors, and poets - both those who have left their childhood home and those who have stayed - tell stories of their favorite city with typical Odessa humor.

The Arithmetic of Freedom

Directed by: Alexander Marutian

Studio: Granted by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation

The film tells the story of the only successful rebellion of prisoners in a concentration camp (Sobibor, Poland) during World War II. Over 250 thousand Jews from Lithuania, Poland, the Netherlands, France, Czechoslovakia and USSR were murdered in Sobibor. The film uses some of the footage from 1980 in which Alexander Pechersky, who organized the rebellion, tells his story, as well as interviews with other camp prisoners, including Thomas Blatt, Haim Engel, Semion Rozenfeld, Alexei Vaitsen, Esther Raab, Regina Zelinsky, Ulius Shelvis. US Premiere.

Pray to God for Us. The Butovo firing range
Directed by: Alexey Ilukhin

Studio: TV-Rossia
Winner of "Zolotoy Vityaz" film festival. At the outskirts of the Butovo part of the south of Moscow is the former firing range of the NKVD, where from the 1930's and until the beginning of the 1950's, tens of thousands of people were shot and buried. This area became the Russian Golgotha, a place of mourning for those, whose relatives did not survive the repression years. A few hundred of them have recently been granted sainthood as martyrs. In the mid-1990's this area was given to the Russian Orthodox Church. A new church was built there in honor of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia. The film is shown out of competition. The screening is sponsored by NTS (USA).

The Enthusiast's Demarche

Directed by: Sergey Kokovkin (USA)

Script by: Sergey Kokovkin (USA)
The film includes interviews with: Elena Dovlatova, Dovlatov's widow; Ksana Mechik, Dovlatov's sister; Lev Losev, writer; Andrey Ariev, writer/critic; Vagrich Bachkhanyan, artist/writer; Vitaly Komar, artist; Lyudmila Stern, writer; Alexander Genis, writer; and many others. Dovlatov's fate was full of mysteries and changes. He played with his life the same way he played with his characters - openly and recklessly. He passed away at the age of 48, just missing his fantastic popularity back at home in Russia. Candid, occasionally almost confessional stories told in the film help develop a multi-faceted, uniquely lively personality of a wonderful man and a great writer. The film aims to create the effect that Sergey Dovlatov is still here with us. The screening is sponsored by The New Review Corporation (USA). (www.newreviewinc.com)