The second day of festival film screenings is here, and we are sharing our daily programme guide for October 22.
Traditionally, the Message to Man Film Festival meticulously curates its programme to ensure that the audience doesn’t miss out on the most captivating experiences. Occasionally, there will be re-screenings of select competitive and out-of-competition films.
The Dom Kino cinema centre hosts a re-screening of the International Competition block, featuring three documentaries. Among them is the Indian short film “Dentures”, delving into the themes of memory and fading consciousness. Also included is the hybrid short film “Sonnenhof”, which explores the intersections of the past and present. Finally, the full-length film “The Castle” by an Argentinian director is a thought-provoking piece centered around the reevaluation of social hierarchy and one’s place within it.
More details here: https://message2man.com/seances/mezhdunarodnyj-konkurs-2-5/
For those who may have missed Jacqueline Mills’ “Geographies of Solitude” (International Competition) and Alexandra Strelyanaya’s “New Wonder” (special programme Superreal Cinema), as featured in yesterday’s guide, there are additional screenings today at Dom Kino and Velikan Park.
The programme of the International Competition continues with two blocks of films. The first block showcases five live-action shorts. Following the screening, there will be a Q&A session with director Roma Belov, the creator of “The Tree Without Leaves”, a film that explores a college-graduate’s last days before joining the army; Maria Chukalskaya, the filmmaker behind “Kids of July”, a documentary about holidays within a Christian community; and Camille Dumortier, who will join online to discuss her film, “Ivory Tower”.
More about the programme: https://message2man.com/seances/mezhdunarodnyj-konkurs-3-7/
In the second block of the competition, there are three documentary films. The short film “Planet D” serves as a personal and social exploration led by director Olesya Rudyka. This film is assembled from footage shot in a teenage colony where inmates underwent a career guidance programme, as well as personal family archives from the 1990s when the filmmaker’s father was released from prison. The author introduces the theme, stating, “If one enters the vicious cycle of incarceration, the trajectory of their life’s onward flight is changed forever.”
The screening also includes an online discussion with filmmaker Khaled Abdulwahed. His full-length film, “Background”, narrates the story of a father and son separated by the Syrian war. Granted asylum in Germany, Khaled can’t give his father a hug, but they can communicate on dark evenings through phone calls, as he listens to his father’s coughing and the sounds of bombings outside his window. Khaled attempts to bridge the gap in time and space that separates them by photoshopping photos from his father’s youth.
More about the programme: https://message2man.com/seances/mezhdunarodnyj-konkurs-4-7/
There are two screenings in the National Competition today. On the one hand, there’s Renata Dzhalo’s “Lenechka”, a film about Leonid Desyatnikov, one of the most performed Russian composers of our time. The filmmaker will participate in a Q&A session after the screening. On the other hand, there’s Nikita Efimov’s “Proposed Circumstances”, which explores the challenges of mutual understanding within a “theatre family.”
About the film “Lenechka”: https://message2man.com/seances/nacionalnyj-konkurs-3-5/
About the film “Proposed Circumstances”: https://message2man.com/seances/nacionalnyj-konkurs-2-4/
Dom Kino’s Grand Hall hosts “Chronicle of Reality” by Pavel Medvedev, which presents the history of non-fiction cinema in Leningrad / St. Petersburg, with rare footage from the archives of the legendary LenDoc film studio. Through archival materials and a decade’s worth of filming, the director illustrates how the studio’s history reflects the broader history of our country. The screening will be followed by a discussion with Pavel Medvedev.
More details here: https://message2man.com/seances/specpokaz/
Special screening of “The Architect: The Story of Alexei German and His Films” is to be held at Lenfilm, the studio where Alexei German Sr. worked. The film, created by the director’s family and colleagues, incorporates parts of the master’s work “Hard to Be a God”, as well as behind-the-scenes footage. This is an original project by the streaming platform Start. The film will be presented by the director’s son, Alexei German Jr., production designer Elena Okopnaya, and producer Alexei Bokov.
More details here: https://message2man.com/seances/specpokaz-4/
Another special screening of the day features the Russian film “Meteorite Hunter” directed by Natalia Anisimova. This documentary tells the story of meteorite hunters, focusing on a man, his dreams, and the strength of his spirit. The screening will be presented by the film’s producer, Anastasia Alekseeva.
More details here: https://message2man.com/seances/specpokaz-3/
The Russian premiere of the Japanese film “Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus” showcases the legendary composer’s final performance, recorded just a few months before his passing. This concert film serves as a poignant swan song for the maestro, encompassing twenty musical pieces that span Sakamoto’s illustrious career. The film covers his journey from his days with the pop group Yellow Magic Orchestra to his iconic soundtracks for Bertolucci’s films, narrating the composer’s life through the medium of music.
More details here: https://message2man.com/seances/specpokaz-2/
Today marks the commencement of Mikhail Ratgauz’s special programme, New Voices. In the Grand Hall of the Rodina Cinema, viewers have the opportunity to watch the Croatian director Juraj Lerotić’s film, “Safe Place”. This full-length feature delves into the themes of battling depression, embracing acceptance, and the power of selfless love.
More details here: https://message2man.com/seances/novye-golosa-1-2/
The Multiverse programme is launched at LenDoc. Five short and medium-length films are thematically united into one microverse Time Travel. These are films that were not included in the International Competition programme.
More details here: https://message2man.com/seances/multivers-time-travel-proshloe-kino-i-mira-revisited/
Alexei Medvedev and Natalia Pylaeva’s annual Panorama.doc programme includes a screening of Alexander Abaturov’s “Paradise”. The film documents the wildfires that swept through northeastern Siberia during the summer of 2021 and garnered significant attention at various festivals. It captures the haunting image of a dense smoke cloud looming over the Yakut village of Shologon, nestled in the heart of the taiga.
More details here: https://message2man.com/seances/panorama-doc-2/
The Workshop programme includes a screening of “Gillo of Ladies and Knights, of Loves and Arms” by Mario Canale and Annarosa Morri. Bringing together the commentary by Gillo Pontecorvo and the memories of the director’s friends, this film strives to tell the story of a man who played a pivotal role in Italian history. He was not only a significant figure in the history of cinema but also left a profound impact on Italian culture and politics.
More details here: https://message2man.com/seances/masterskaja-2/
Finally, the Word Order bookshop will host a screening of the film “Holiday” and a meeting with the director Isabella Eklöf, a member of this year’s International Competition jury. The thriller, which knocks down all moral standards, was listed among the best films of 2018 by Sight and Sound magazine. Back home, it won four national Bodil Awards, including for Best Danish film.
More details here: https://message2man.com/seances/specpokaz-5/
