Here is the next day of the XXXII Message to Man Film Festival in St. Petersburg. Every day our website will recommend five films from its competition and out-of-competition programmes. Despite the fact that it’s Monday, there is plenty to see in the cinemas.
Nicolae
The Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, who was sentenced and executed in 1989, resurrects in 2021 as a hologram to address the inhabitants of a small village. What happens next is captured in a hybrid documentary, observing the effects this unusual encounter has on the people involved, many of whom are first-hand witnesses of Ceaușescu’s rule.
Once Upon a Time: Tonino Delli Colli Cinematographer
Tonino Delli Colli is a legendary cinematographer who over the years has collaborated with such directors as Pier Paolo Pasolini, Federico Fellini, Sergio Leone, Jean-Jacques Annaud, and Roman Polanski, as well as Louis Malle and Yves Boisset. Once Upon a Time: Tonino Delli Colli, Cinematographer is an on-screen portrait of the master who made a great contribution to the history of world cinema.
Temporary Limitation
Maria Alexandrova and Vladislav Lantratov are international ballet stars. Their whole life is connected with dance. It is impossible to imagine them outside a stage – the one they come from, the Bolshoi Theatre, or other famous theatres. In the spring of 2019, their lives change dramatically – both Masha and Vlad injure their Achilles tendon, she during a rehearsal, and he during an important premiere in front of hundreds of spectators. Their careers, occupations, joys of a familiar life are under threat. The legs of the artists turn into independent heroes that their owners sometimes address.
Deep into the Island
If you take a stroll about the Russian lands on Google maps, you will at some point find yourself on a string of islands lost in the Pacific waters. The largest of them is Bering Island. A small settlement, Nikolskoye, is perched on its edge. Protagonist Arkasha is 17. He’s been living his whole life on the island but this summer he graduates from school and prepares to leave home. He likes making cakes, which is why he decided to pursue further education as a food technologist in Smolensk. With only a few days left until Arkasha takes off, his best friend breaks both arms quite badly, while the Island becomes overcast with thunder clouds.
Please, baby, please
Suze and Arthur are the ideal bohemian Manhattan couple who become the obsession of a local greaser gang after they witness a gruesome murder. With witty dialogue and flamboyant musical numbers, the hyper-stylised musical rouses timely questions on identity and gender.
October 24, Monday Schedule:
Dom Kino, Big Hall, 12, Karavannaya street
New Voices 6
15:50 – All Eyes Off Me, dir. Hadas ben Aroya, Israel, 2020, 90 min.
International Competition 3
16:10 – Vertical Shadow, dir. Felipe Elgueta, Ananke Pereira, Chile, 2022, 14 min.
What do I look like, dir. Adèle Shaykhulova, France, 2022, 27 min.
Jaime, dir. Francisco Javier Rodriguez, Belgium, 2022, 37 min.
Love in Galilee, dir. Nader Chalhoub, Layla Menhem, France, 2021, 20 min.
Superreal Cinema 3
20:30 – Please, baby, please, dir. Amanda Kramer, USA, 2022, 95 min.
Dom Kino, Blue Hall, 12, Karavannaya street
International Competition 1
17:30 – Intermede, dir. Maria Kourkouta, Greece, France, 2022, 24 min.
Where are We Headed, dir. Ruslan Fedotov, Belarus, Russia, 2021, 63 min.
Flexible Past 2
19:15 – Albanian Trilogy: It Wears as It Grows, dir. Armando Lulaj, Albania, 2012, 18 min.
Never, dir. Armando Lulaj, Albania, 2012, 22 min.
Recapitulation, dir. Armando Lulaj, Albania, 2015, 13 min.
20:10, Multitudes of Histories round table, part of the Flexible Past programme.
International Competition 2
21:30 – Tyranny, dir. David Adamko, Hungary, 2022, 12 min.
Character, dir. Paul Heintz, France, 2021, 39 min.
Nicolae, dir. Mihai Grecu, France, 2022, 45 min.
Dom Kino, White Hall, 12, Karavannaya street
Student films: SPUFT
20:00 – Gennady at the Phone, dir. Ilya Ponomarev, SPUFT, Russia, 2022, 17 min.
Talk to Me, dir. Diana Ogneva, SPUFT, Russia, 2022, 6 min.
Cohabitance, dir. David Pozdyrka, SPUFT, Russia, 2022, 28 min.
Look at Her, dir. Ilya Pochkaev, SPUFT, Russia, 2022, 28 min.
My Sun, dir. Maria Odintsova, SPUFT, Russia, 2021, 2 min.
Quiet Light, dir. Sveta Gabdrakhimova, SPUFT, Russia, 2022, 13 min.
Lendoc, Big Hall, 12, naberezhnaya Kryukova kanala
National Competition 5
18:30 – Triptych, dir. Yana Osman, Russia, 2022, 8 min.
Temporary Limitation, dir. Ksenia Gapchenko, Russia, 2022, 80 min.
National Competition 6
20:50 – To Kill What Lives Inside Me, dir. Masha Chernaya, Russia, 2022, 36 min.
Deep into the Island, dir. Yana Chizh, Russia, 2022, 62 min.
Rodina, Small Hall, 12, Karavannaya street
19:40 – Foreign Destinies – African Students at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography: Guinea, Mali, Maurtania, Sudan roud table, part of the Red Africa programme.
Red Africa 4
Africa. VGIK: Return of the Name Costades Diagne
21:00 – Men of the Dance, dir. Costades Diagne, USSR, 1965, 20 min.
A Woman, dir. Costades Diagne, USSR, 1966, 20 min.
Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, dir. Costades Diagne, Guinea, 1968, 40 min.
Avrora, Small Hall, 60, Nevsky pr.
Special Screening
19:30 – Once Upon a Time: Tonino Delli Colli Cinematographer, dir. Paolo Mancini, Claver Salizzato, 2020, Italy, 65 min.
Velikan Park, Small Hall 3, 4, Alexandrovsky park BUILDING 3
National Competition 1
19:45 – Lost Island, dir. Svetlana Rodina, Laurent Stoop, Switzerland, 2021, 92 min.
National Competition 2
21:35 – Follow the Sea, dir. Denis Shabaev, Russia, 2021, 81 min.
Velikan Park, Small Hall 4, 4, Alexandrovsky park BUILDING 3
New Voices 5
16:45 – Pebbles, dir. P.S. Vinothraj, India, 2021, 75 min.
Opening film
18:15 – Big Snakes of Ulli-Kale, dir. Alexey Fedorchenko, Russia, 2022, 122 min.
Superreal Cinema 1
20:35 – Duel, dir. Vlad Kozlov, USA, 2022, 19 min.
8 Day, dir. Evgeny Krylov, Russia, 2022, 105 min.
Poryadok Slov, 15, naberezhnaya reki Fontanki
19:30 – Meeting with film critic Zara Abdullayeva. Presentation of the book Postdoc-2.
St. Petersburg State University of Film and Television (SPUFT), 13, Pravdy street
14:00 – One of the Miteski Gang workshop by film director Vuk Mitevski; screening of animation films Alerik, 17 min., Edna, 11 min., and animation miniatures, 2 min.