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Completed - RUSSIAN - Drama - 109 minutes

Year of production : 2011

Director(s) : Andrey ZVYAGINTSEV
Writer(s) : Andrey ZVYAGINTSEV, Oleg NEGIN
Cast : Andrey SMIRNOV, Nadezhda MARKINA, Elena LYADOVA

Producer(s) : Alexander RODNYANSKY, Sergey MELKUMOV

Synopsis

An older couple, Elena and Vladimir: he is rich and mean with his money; she is more of a servant than a wife. They’ve been together for about ten years. Elena has a son from a previous marriage; Vladimir has a daughter. Her son is unemployed. His daughter is a bohemian. The unemployed son has his own family: a wife, a baby, and a teenager. The bohemian daughter has no children, no husband – nothing but her cheerless sense of cynicism and a morbid fear of reality.
Elena’s son desperately needs money, something which Vladimir is nothing short of. However, he’s in no rush to help his wife’s family.
A heart attack puts Vladimir in hospital, where he realizes that his remaining time is limited. He tells Elena his plans for the inheritance: all his money will go to his daughter, while Elena will get a small life-long alimony to support her.
The sweet, kind-hearted older woman who commands so much sympathy from the audience comes up with an ingenious plan to kill her husband, take his money, and give her son and grandchildren a chance in life.

Production

Country(ies) : RUSSIA

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Festivals and Awards

Sundance Film Festival, USA 2010 (Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Award (prize for the Best Script in 2010) )
Cannes International Film Festival 2011 (Special Jury Prize of the program “Un Certain Regard”)
Durban International Film Festival, South Africa 2011 (Prizes for the Best Director, Best Actress and Best Photography)
Flanders International Film Festival Ghent, Belgium 2011 (Grand Prix )
Haifa International Film Festival 2011 (Grand Prix of the FEODORA Competition (international competition))
Seville European Film Festival 2011 (Prize for the Best Actress (Nadezhda Markina))
Festival du Nouveau Cinema de Montreal, Canada 2011 (Prize for the Best Actress (Nadezhda Markina))
Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2011 (Prize for the Best Actress (Nadezhda Markina); Special mention to the director Andrey Zvyagintsev for the outstanding achievements)
International Film Festival of India 2011 (Prize for the Best Actress (Nadezhda Markina))
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Estonia 2011 (International Competition Programme Eurasia)
Abu Dhabi International Film Festival 2011 (Participant of the competition program of feature films “Narrative Competition”)
Thessaloniki International Film Festival, Greece 2011 (Special screening in the program “Open Horizons” )
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2011 (Special screening in the program “Horizons” )
Russian Resurrection Film Festival in Australia 2011 (Special screenings in different cities across Australia )
Melbourne International Film Festival, Australia 2011 (Participant of the program “International Panorama”)
Motovun International Film Festival, Croatia 2011 (Participant of the main program )
Toronto International Film Festival 2011 (Participant of the program “Contemporary World Cinema”)
Palm Springs International Film Festival 2012 (Participant of the program “Modern Masters”)
Tromso International Film Festival, Norway 2012 (Grand Prix, FIPRESCI prize )


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