An adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s iconic Russian novel “The Master and Margarita” is inching closer to a Western release as it heads to AFM this week.
The feature, directed by Michael Lockshin (“Silver Skates”), was a victim of the sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, despite both Locksin and the film itself being critical of Putin’s authoritarianism.
With the film’s rights now in the clear, Luminosity Pictures have boarded the project as sales agent, launching at AFM.
“The Master and Margarita” stars August Diehl (“Inglourious Basterds”), Claes Bang (“Bad Sisters”), Evgeniy Tsyganov (The Man Who Surprised Everyone”) and Yulia Snigir (“A Good Day to Die Hard”). Lockshin co-wrote the screenplay with Roman Kantor based on Bulgakov’s semi-autobiographical and anti-authoritarian novel, which has sold over 100 million copies internationally and been translated into over 40 languages.
The film, set in the Stalinist Soviet Union of the 1930s,...
The feature, directed by Michael Lockshin (“Silver Skates”), was a victim of the sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, despite both Locksin and the film itself being critical of Putin’s authoritarianism.
With the film’s rights now in the clear, Luminosity Pictures have boarded the project as sales agent, launching at AFM.
“The Master and Margarita” stars August Diehl (“Inglourious Basterds”), Claes Bang (“Bad Sisters”), Evgeniy Tsyganov (The Man Who Surprised Everyone”) and Yulia Snigir (“A Good Day to Die Hard”). Lockshin co-wrote the screenplay with Roman Kantor based on Bulgakov’s semi-autobiographical and anti-authoritarian novel, which has sold over 100 million copies internationally and been translated into over 40 languages.
The film, set in the Stalinist Soviet Union of the 1930s,...
- 11/4/2024
- by K.J. Yossman and Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Last week, we launched a new page at JoBloYouTubeNetwork.com, where you can access all of our YouTube channels from one place. Now we have some very cool news to share about our YouTube network, as JoBlo Media and Octane Multimedia are partnering on a new channel named JoBlo TV, which will host feature films to watch for free every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday! The channel launches Today, and the genres we’ll be focusing on are Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Thrillers.
The first free-to-watch movie to be featured on JoBlo TV will be the Russian sci-fi action film A Rough Draft. Check it out:
Directed by Sergey Mokritskiy, who also crafted the screenplay with Maksim Budarin, Denis Kuryshev, and Olga Sobenina (based on a novel by Night Watch author Sergey Lukyanenko), A Rough Draft has the following synopsis: A video game designer is stripped of his identity and...
The first free-to-watch movie to be featured on JoBlo TV will be the Russian sci-fi action film A Rough Draft. Check it out:
Directed by Sergey Mokritskiy, who also crafted the screenplay with Maksim Budarin, Denis Kuryshev, and Olga Sobenina (based on a novel by Night Watch author Sergey Lukyanenko), A Rough Draft has the following synopsis: A video game designer is stripped of his identity and...
- 9/20/2024
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
On the JoBlo Movies YouTube channel, we will be posting one full movie every day of the week, giving viewers the chance to watch them entirely free of charge. The Free Movie of the Day we have for you today is the 2018 Russian sci-fi action movie A Rough Draft. You can watch the movie over on the YouTube channel linked above, or you can just watch it in the embed at the top of this article.
Directed by Sergey Mokritskiy, who also crafted the screenplay with Maksim Budarin, Denis Kuryshev, and Olga Sobenina (based on a novel by Night Watch author Sergey Lukyanenko), A Rough Draft has the following synopsis: A young resident of Moscow, Kirill is a talented designer of computer games. One day, he is completely erased from the memory of everyone he knew and loved. Kirill learns that he is chosen for an important and mysterious mission.
Directed by Sergey Mokritskiy, who also crafted the screenplay with Maksim Budarin, Denis Kuryshev, and Olga Sobenina (based on a novel by Night Watch author Sergey Lukyanenko), A Rough Draft has the following synopsis: A young resident of Moscow, Kirill is a talented designer of computer games. One day, he is completely erased from the memory of everyone he knew and loved. Kirill learns that he is chosen for an important and mysterious mission.
- 3/1/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Exclusive: German actor August Diehl, whose credits include The Young Karl Marx, Inglourious Basterds and A Hidden Life, has signed on to play the lead role in big-budget Russian drama Woland.
The $15M project is a loose adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s classic novel The Master and Margarita, one of the most read books in Russia’s history. Michael Lockshin (Silver Skates) is directing from a screenplay by Roman Kantor and Michael Lockshinbased.
Starring alongside Diehl are Yulia Snigir and Evgeniy Tsyganov. Set in Moscow in the 1930s, the film will weave together the novel’s narrative with Bulgakov’s own history in Russia. It will follow a promising young writer who at the height of his career finds himself in the middle of a scandal of both literary and political nature – his new novel is being crushed by harsh idealistic critics, who say that his vivid depiction of Christ...
The $15M project is a loose adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s classic novel The Master and Margarita, one of the most read books in Russia’s history. Michael Lockshin (Silver Skates) is directing from a screenplay by Roman Kantor and Michael Lockshinbased.
Starring alongside Diehl are Yulia Snigir and Evgeniy Tsyganov. Set in Moscow in the 1930s, the film will weave together the novel’s narrative with Bulgakov’s own history in Russia. It will follow a promising young writer who at the height of his career finds himself in the middle of a scandal of both literary and political nature – his new novel is being crushed by harsh idealistic critics, who say that his vivid depiction of Christ...
- 7/22/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
The debut of Russian rock ’n’ roll saga “Tsoi,” based on the life of the iconic rebel singer-songwriter Viktor Tsoi, who died in 1990, has triggered a rights dispute with the performer’s heirs over the use of his name and image.
The Warsaw Film Festival is scheduled to screen “Tsoi” in its international competition on Oct. 15, but Sophia Mikulinski, who represents the heirs and family of Viktor Tsoi, says a screening would be in “direct violation of the [copyright] law applicable on the territory of the European Union.”
An Oct. 1 letter seen by Variety, addressed to the Warsaw Film Festival from Alexander Tsoi, the rock star’s son and heir, demanded that the fest cancel its screening, stating the film was “created without obtaining legally binding consents to use the name and image of the famous musician.”
Warsaw plans to screen the film regardless of the dispute, says fest director Stefan Laudyn.
The Warsaw Film Festival is scheduled to screen “Tsoi” in its international competition on Oct. 15, but Sophia Mikulinski, who represents the heirs and family of Viktor Tsoi, says a screening would be in “direct violation of the [copyright] law applicable on the territory of the European Union.”
An Oct. 1 letter seen by Variety, addressed to the Warsaw Film Festival from Alexander Tsoi, the rock star’s son and heir, demanded that the fest cancel its screening, stating the film was “created without obtaining legally binding consents to use the name and image of the famous musician.”
Warsaw plans to screen the film regardless of the dispute, says fest director Stefan Laudyn.
- 10/9/2020
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
Stars: Elena Lyadova, Vladimir Vdovichenkov, Sevastian Bugaev, Yan Runov, Evgeniy Tsyganov | Written and Directed by Olga Gorodetskaya
A feature film debut from writer and director Olga Gorodetskaya, based on a story written by Anna Starobinets (Port), Stray is a Russian horror movie that follows a couple who, after losing their young son, adopt a child from an orphanage that turns out to be less than “normal”.
The film, also called Tvar and Evil Boy, is not totally unlike some of the other “evil child” films we’ve seen over the years, and possesses (pun not intended) many of those traits and storyline routes that many of those films take. It still does, however, have it’s own soul and ideas, making it interesting and engaging enough from the start to get you invested and keep you watching. The young boy, once the couple take him home, begins immediately to transform...
A feature film debut from writer and director Olga Gorodetskaya, based on a story written by Anna Starobinets (Port), Stray is a Russian horror movie that follows a couple who, after losing their young son, adopt a child from an orphanage that turns out to be less than “normal”.
The film, also called Tvar and Evil Boy, is not totally unlike some of the other “evil child” films we’ve seen over the years, and possesses (pun not intended) many of those traits and storyline routes that many of those films take. It still does, however, have it’s own soul and ideas, making it interesting and engaging enough from the start to get you invested and keep you watching. The young boy, once the couple take him home, begins immediately to transform...
- 10/8/2020
- by Chris Cummings
- Nerdly
German distributor Tiberius Film has acquired the local rights to Woody Harrelson’s comedy “Lost in London” at the American Film Market, as well as two films from Russian producer Central Partnership – action movie “The Ninth” and horror thriller “The Widow.”
“Lost in London,” Harrelson’s directorial debut, was experimental. It was shot over a single night and was screened live in selected movie theaters. Harrelson plays himself in the film, in which he experiences an insane night in London, ending up in prison.
Other well-known actors and musicians who cross his path that night include Owen Wilson, Daniel Radcliffe, Willie Nelson and Bono. The film was produced by Signature Ent.
The visually arresting “The Ninth” is set in 19th century St. Petersburg, in which occultism and spiritual séances are very popular. When a series of mysterious murders occur, young commissioner Rostov investigates. Evgeniy Tsyganov (“Red Sniper”) and Yuri Kolokolnikov,...
“Lost in London,” Harrelson’s directorial debut, was experimental. It was shot over a single night and was screened live in selected movie theaters. Harrelson plays himself in the film, in which he experiences an insane night in London, ending up in prison.
Other well-known actors and musicians who cross his path that night include Owen Wilson, Daniel Radcliffe, Willie Nelson and Bono. The film was produced by Signature Ent.
The visually arresting “The Ninth” is set in 19th century St. Petersburg, in which occultism and spiritual séances are very popular. When a series of mysterious murders occur, young commissioner Rostov investigates. Evgeniy Tsyganov (“Red Sniper”) and Yuri Kolokolnikov,...
- 11/13/2019
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Triple F-Rated feature named Film of the Festival.
Alexandra Kotcheff and Hannah Leder’s Triple F-Rated feature The Planters - the rating given to films directed and/or written by women, which also includes women in significant roles on screen – has been named Film of the Festival at the UK’s Raindance Film Festival (September 18-29).
Written, directed and starring Kotcheff and Leder, The Planters is a dark comedy about a reclusive telemarketer who befriends a homeless woman with multiple personalities.
Scroll down for the full list of winners
Mary Jimenez and Bénédicte Liénarddocumentary By the Name of Tania, another F-Rated winner,...
Alexandra Kotcheff and Hannah Leder’s Triple F-Rated feature The Planters - the rating given to films directed and/or written by women, which also includes women in significant roles on screen – has been named Film of the Festival at the UK’s Raindance Film Festival (September 18-29).
Written, directed and starring Kotcheff and Leder, The Planters is a dark comedy about a reclusive telemarketer who befriends a homeless woman with multiple personalities.
Scroll down for the full list of winners
Mary Jimenez and Bénédicte Liénarddocumentary By the Name of Tania, another F-Rated winner,...
- 9/27/2019
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Speaking at the Odessa Film Festival the producer of Sergey Mokritsky’s war drama Unbroken said that the project had now completed principal photography.
20th Century Fox and Universal are among the Us majors ¨in talks¨ to take on worldwide distribution for Sergey Mokritsky’s € 3.7m biopic/war drama Unbroken.
Speaking at this week’s Works in Progress showcase at the Odessa Film Industry Office, producer Egor Olesov of Kiev-based Kinorob said that the Ukrainian-Russian co-production - which had previously previously gone under the working title of The Battle Of Sevastopol - completed principal photography in Kiev on last Tuesday (July 15).
Expected to be a blockbuster success in Ukraine, the film recounts the story of student Lyudmila Pavilchenko who was a legendary sniper during the Second World War with 309 shots to her credit and later became friends with the First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
In an interview with Russia’s Ria-Novosti , producer Natalia Mokritskaya said that the film...
20th Century Fox and Universal are among the Us majors ¨in talks¨ to take on worldwide distribution for Sergey Mokritsky’s € 3.7m biopic/war drama Unbroken.
Speaking at this week’s Works in Progress showcase at the Odessa Film Industry Office, producer Egor Olesov of Kiev-based Kinorob said that the Ukrainian-Russian co-production - which had previously previously gone under the working title of The Battle Of Sevastopol - completed principal photography in Kiev on last Tuesday (July 15).
Expected to be a blockbuster success in Ukraine, the film recounts the story of student Lyudmila Pavilchenko who was a legendary sniper during the Second World War with 309 shots to her credit and later became friends with the First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
In an interview with Russia’s Ria-Novosti , producer Natalia Mokritskaya said that the film...
- 7/17/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Fortress Of War
Stars: Evgeniy Tsyganov, Pavel Derevyanko, Andrey Merzlikin, Veronika Nikonova, Anna Tsukanova | Written by Aleksey Dudarev, Ekaterina Tirdatova, Igor Ugolnikov | Directed by Alexander Kott
World War II films are a common entry into the war genre. Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan seems to be the benchmark for the Americanised war films, with the highly personalised story of the search for one man in the war. Fortress of War takes that style of a centralised story within a broader spectrum and does it with absolute aplomb.
Fortress of War tells the story of the invasion by German forces of the Brest Fortress in the Soviet Union in 1941 and is directed by Alexander Kott. The story focuses on the one siege upon the fortress, kicking off with a surprise attack and then never letting up for the entire two hour runtime.
The relentless of the film is striking, starting...
Stars: Evgeniy Tsyganov, Pavel Derevyanko, Andrey Merzlikin, Veronika Nikonova, Anna Tsukanova | Written by Aleksey Dudarev, Ekaterina Tirdatova, Igor Ugolnikov | Directed by Alexander Kott
World War II films are a common entry into the war genre. Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan seems to be the benchmark for the Americanised war films, with the highly personalised story of the search for one man in the war. Fortress of War takes that style of a centralised story within a broader spectrum and does it with absolute aplomb.
Fortress of War tells the story of the invasion by German forces of the Brest Fortress in the Soviet Union in 1941 and is directed by Alexander Kott. The story focuses on the one siege upon the fortress, kicking off with a surprise attack and then never letting up for the entire two hour runtime.
The relentless of the film is striking, starting...
- 11/19/2011
- by JeButlin
- Nerdly
Mermaid (Rusalka) Directed by: Anna Melikyan Cast: Masha Shalayeva, Yevgeni Tsyganov, Mariya Sokova Running Time: 1 hr 55 mins Rating: Unrated 32nd Portland International Film Festival Country: Russia English?: Nope. Subtitled. Plot: Alice (Shalayeva) grows up in a small seaside village where she attends a school for the mentally disabled because she refuses to speak. But after moving to Moscow with her family, she meets Sasha (Tsyganov). She saves his life, falls in love with him and becomes his housekeeper to get close to him. Who’s It For? Mermaid is a sophisticated fairytale. Adults and older teens who don't mind subtitles and like a bit of magical realism should really enjoy this film. Overall I've seen a few Russian movies in my day, and Mermaid isn't like any of them. Sure, it's a...
- 2/9/2009
- The Scorecard Review
How’s this for an odd film pedigree: a remake of a Hong Kong action film, shot in Russian with largely Russian backing with a Swedish director. This is what you’ve got with Newsmakers.
A remake of Johnnie To’s Breaking News with the action transplanted to Russia - reportedly the first ever Russian remake of a Hong Kong film - the film is directed by young Swede Anders Banke, well known is these parts as the director of Swedish vampire film Frostbiten. Banke, it turns out, attended film school in Moscow and is totally Russian fluent, which makes sense of his directing a Russian language film, and the brilliant, period set opening to Frostbiten should put to rest any question as to whether he’s got the technical skills needed to tackle To. He very clearly does.
What Banke also has is a very strong cast. A quick...
A remake of Johnnie To’s Breaking News with the action transplanted to Russia - reportedly the first ever Russian remake of a Hong Kong film - the film is directed by young Swede Anders Banke, well known is these parts as the director of Swedish vampire film Frostbiten. Banke, it turns out, attended film school in Moscow and is totally Russian fluent, which makes sense of his directing a Russian language film, and the brilliant, period set opening to Frostbiten should put to rest any question as to whether he’s got the technical skills needed to tackle To. He very clearly does.
What Banke also has is a very strong cast. A quick...
- 9/22/2008
- by Todd Brown
- Screen Anarchy
Mermaid
PARK CITY -- A romantic contemporary fairy tale, Mermaid charms on multiple levels with sweet-natured whimsicality and creativity.
This is a surefire festival selection that's destined to live happily ever after on DVD and European TV. Russian writer-director Anna Melikian's film recently won the World Cinema Directing Award at last month's Sundance Film Festival.
Mermaid introduces Alisa (Anastasiya Dontsova) following her birth six years earlier to a stocky single woman (Maria Sokova) after a seashore skinny-dipping en-counter with a wayward sailor. The young girl grows up independent and headstrong, to the extent that when her mother refuses to let her study ballet, Alisa takes a vow of silence and keeps it for more than a decade.
Relegated to a special-ed school because of her refusal to speak, she discovers an unusual ability to make wishes come true that even allows her to influence the weather. One day she conjures up a major hurricane that destroys her seaside home, forcing Alisa and her mother, along with her dotty grandma, to relocate to Moscow.
Now 17, Alisa (Masha Shalaeva) flourishes in her new urban environment but still can't get a break as she's denied admission to college because of her low test scores. Taking a job as a walking cell phone mascot, she's able to covertly observe big-city life. When she comes upon the drunken, suicidal young businessman Sasha (Yevgeni Tsyganov), she saves him from drowning and is instantly smitten.
Abandoning her nonverbal habits, Alisa insinuates herself into his life as a house-cleaner. His inspiration to cast her as a spokes-model for his shady business of selling real estate on the moon to gullible customers suggests that he might have a romantic interest in Alisa. Even her role in two more life-saving interventions can't distract Sasha from his neurotic, high-maintenance girlfriend (Irina Skrinichenko), launching a mismatched rivalry between the two women.
Shalaeva radiates as the offbeat Alisa, surrounded by a capable cast of similarly fanciful characters. Despite some peculiar plot developments, Melikian's light touch keeps the pell-mell narrative from derailing.
Drawing on her background in TV and musical productions, Melikian combines an inventive visual sensibility in the film's realistic sequences with digitally enhanced, brightly colored fantasy scenes, skillfully shot by cinematographer Oleg Kirichenko.
MERMAID
Magnum Studios in association with Central Partnership
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Anna Melikian
Producer: Ruben Dishdishian
Director of photography: Oleg Kirichenko
Production designer: Ulyana Ryabova
Music: Igor Vdovin
Costume designer: Irina Grashdankina
Editor: Oleg Kirichenko
Cast:
Alisa: Masha Shalaeva
Sasha: Yevgeni Tsyganov
Mother: Maria Sokova
Young Alisa: Anastasiya Dontsova
Running time -- 114 minutes
No MPAA rating...
This is a surefire festival selection that's destined to live happily ever after on DVD and European TV. Russian writer-director Anna Melikian's film recently won the World Cinema Directing Award at last month's Sundance Film Festival.
Mermaid introduces Alisa (Anastasiya Dontsova) following her birth six years earlier to a stocky single woman (Maria Sokova) after a seashore skinny-dipping en-counter with a wayward sailor. The young girl grows up independent and headstrong, to the extent that when her mother refuses to let her study ballet, Alisa takes a vow of silence and keeps it for more than a decade.
Relegated to a special-ed school because of her refusal to speak, she discovers an unusual ability to make wishes come true that even allows her to influence the weather. One day she conjures up a major hurricane that destroys her seaside home, forcing Alisa and her mother, along with her dotty grandma, to relocate to Moscow.
Now 17, Alisa (Masha Shalaeva) flourishes in her new urban environment but still can't get a break as she's denied admission to college because of her low test scores. Taking a job as a walking cell phone mascot, she's able to covertly observe big-city life. When she comes upon the drunken, suicidal young businessman Sasha (Yevgeni Tsyganov), she saves him from drowning and is instantly smitten.
Abandoning her nonverbal habits, Alisa insinuates herself into his life as a house-cleaner. His inspiration to cast her as a spokes-model for his shady business of selling real estate on the moon to gullible customers suggests that he might have a romantic interest in Alisa. Even her role in two more life-saving interventions can't distract Sasha from his neurotic, high-maintenance girlfriend (Irina Skrinichenko), launching a mismatched rivalry between the two women.
Shalaeva radiates as the offbeat Alisa, surrounded by a capable cast of similarly fanciful characters. Despite some peculiar plot developments, Melikian's light touch keeps the pell-mell narrative from derailing.
Drawing on her background in TV and musical productions, Melikian combines an inventive visual sensibility in the film's realistic sequences with digitally enhanced, brightly colored fantasy scenes, skillfully shot by cinematographer Oleg Kirichenko.
MERMAID
Magnum Studios in association with Central Partnership
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Anna Melikian
Producer: Ruben Dishdishian
Director of photography: Oleg Kirichenko
Production designer: Ulyana Ryabova
Music: Igor Vdovin
Costume designer: Irina Grashdankina
Editor: Oleg Kirichenko
Cast:
Alisa: Masha Shalaeva
Sasha: Yevgeni Tsyganov
Mother: Maria Sokova
Young Alisa: Anastasiya Dontsova
Running time -- 114 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 2/13/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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