Day 2 at the Message to Man International Film Festival features five installments of the International Competition with online Q&As, as well as four installments of the National Competition with offline meetings. In addition, the Superreal Cinema programme includes two high-profile screenings: the Russian premiere of the Franco-Georgian film Beginning, directed by Déa Kulumbegashvili, Golden Shell winner at the San Sebastián International Film Festival, and the St. Petersburg premiere of Malmkrog by Cristi Puiu, a pioneer of the Romanian New Wave.
“THE LEGEND OF SIEGFRIED”, directed by Svetlana Strelnikova (2020)
The fourth installment of the International Competition introduces the world premiere of Svetlana Strelnikova’s film The Legend of Siegfried, a portrait of a French indie musician. Film critic Ksenia Rozhdestvenskaya: “This is not about a musician, but about how a filmmaker interacts with the person they are filming, like a student looking at a teacher. Strelnikova is ruthless both to herself and to the character. The Legend of Siegfried is primarily a legend about Strelnikova herself, ready to make a beer run on her idol’s command or look for actors who are eager to make love on camera.” Post-screening Q&A with the director will take place.
“BLUE ROSE”, directed by Olga Korsun (2020)
The fourth installment of the national competition includes the St. Petersburg premiere of Blue Rose, a documentary essay which was presented this summer as part of the first national competition at the Moscow International Experimental Film Festival (MIEFF). Made with a variety of techniques from animation to reporting, the film is an intricate entanglement of director Olga Korsun’s childhood memories with the reflections on the significance of flowers in our lives. Producer of the film, cinema curator Maya Kuzina, will answer questions from the audience after the screening.
“WINTER JOURNEY”, directed by Anders Østergaard (2019)
The Panorama.doc programme features the film Winter Journey by Danish director Anders Østergaard, Chairman of the International Competition jury, which reveals a little-known page from the history of German Jews. Post-screening Q&A with the director will take place.
“MALMKROG”, directed by Cristi Puiu (2020)
Two screenings as part of the Superreal Cinema programme: Malmkrog by Romanian filmmaker Cristi Puiu (an epic about the 20th century, the film, which stays within the walls of a Transylvanian villa, brought Puiu the Best Director award in the Encounters experimental section of the Berlinale) and Beginning by Georgian directress Déa Kulumbegashvili (a debut about a sectarian in search of freedom, which won the Golden Shell in San Sebastián). Film critic Anton Dolin on Malmkrog: “While not deviating from someone else’s text, Cristi Puiu turns it into his own signature statement. By giving flesh, name, and character to the participants of a philosophical dialogue, he thus changes the key points.”
“FELLINI’S SATYRICON”, directed by Federico Fellini (1969)
In the evening, as part of the “Gender Without Borders” retrospective, which is dedicated to Federico Fellini’s 100th anniversary, his Satyricon will be screened in the main room of Aurora cinema. It is a screen version of Petronius’ novel about a homosexual love triangle in ancient Rome that features music by Fellini’s permanent co-author, Nino Rota.
