News

Anton Bormatov’s social drama Kicking In taken out of competition over “human rights” issues.

Russian football hooligan film Kicking In (Okolofutbola) was excluded from consideration by the jury of the the Saint-Petersburg International Film Festival (Spiff), it has emerged.

The second edition of the festival ended last night [Sept 22] with the declaration from jury president Sergei Bodrov.

The international jury refused to consider Anton Bormatov’s social drama based on real events in the world of football hooligans because of the authors’ position which was “not in line with modern European humanistic values and human rights”.

The festival had organised a sidebar - “Section 22 frames” - dedicated to films about football and one commentator asked why Bormatov’s film hadn’t been shown here. The film was produced by the Saint-Petersburg-based producer Sergei Selyanov of Ctb, who was in Moscow at the same time for the film’s premiere in the October cinema.

Kicking In will...

Anton Bormatov’s social drama Kicking In taken out of competition over “human rights” issues.

Russian football hooligan film Kicking In (Okolofutbola) was excluded from consideration by the jury of the the Saint-Petersburg International Film Festival (Spiff), it has emerged.

The second edition of the festival ended last night [Sept 22] with the declaration from jury president Sergei Bodrov.

The international jury refused to consider Anton Bormatov’s social drama based on real events in the world of football hooligans because of the authors’ position which was “not in line with modern European humanistic values and human rights”.

The festival had organised a sidebar - “Section 22 frames” - dedicated to films about football and one commentator asked why Bormatov’s film hadn’t been shown here. The film was produced by the Saint-Petersburg-based producer Sergei Selyanov of Ctb, who was in Moscow at the same time for the film’s premiere in the October cinema.

Kicking In will...

Summary: A Russian-made thriller that forgets to be thrilling.

The next time you're in Russia in the 90s, do yourself a favor: wear a nice jean jacket and pants ensemble and pack a gun. If director Anton Bormatov's Alien Girl is any guide, you'll fit right in.

When a Russian gangster is caught by the police after a particularly nasty killing spree, his boss goes after the captured man's sister to keep him from saying the kinds of things that put mafia bosses in jail. The four hit men he sends after the girl are guys with nicknames like Kid, Beef, and Whiz –– men who break a guy's feet with the same ease with which you and I buy a delicious ham sandwich.

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Aren’t you sick of Russian mob movies? I didn’t think so. Here are three clips and a trailer from Anton Bormatov’s crime flick Alien Girl. The film is written by Vladimir Nesterenko and Sergei Sokolyuk, and stars Natalia Romanycheva, Evgeni Tkachuk, Kirill Poluhin, Anatoli Otradnov, Aleksandr Golubkov, Evgeny Mundun, Oleg Baykulov, Alexander Korchagin, Dmitry Ratomsky, and Sergey Siplivy.

Official synopsis:

Ukraine – (The 1990’s) Amidst a violent clash between two rival gangs, their very existence hinges on a woman named Angela (aka “Alien Girl,” played by Natalia Romanycheva), the sister of a gang member who is about to cut a deal with the police. In order to exert influence over him before he testifies, his boss dispatches four of his best hit men, who set off on a trip to Prague to bring Angela back to the Ukraine and hold her hostage. But what starts off as a...

Anton Bormatov's Alien Girl received a fair bit of attention in these pages a good while back, back when the gritty Russian crime picture was nearing a release on those shores.

Well, tomorrow the film will become a rare example of a new Russian film released theatrically in North America with Paladin putting it on screens in New York and La and they've shared a trio of clips to whet the appetite.

Ukraine - (The 1990's) Amidst a violent clash between two rival gangs, their very existence hinges on a woman named Angela (aka "Alien Girl," played by Natalia Romanycheva), the sister of a gang member who is about to cut a deal with the police. In order to exert influence over him before he testifies, his boss dispatches four of his best hit men, who set off on a trip to Prague to bring Angela back to the Ukraine and hold her hostage.

Three clips and some new images from Anton Bormatov’s crime flick “Alien Girl”, which answers the age old question: “Can a lone woman take on four cold-blooded Russian hitmen?” Sure, if her nickname is “Alien Girl”. You can check out the previously posted trailer here. Ukraine – (The 1990’s) Amidst a violent clash between two rival gangs, their very existence hinges on a woman named Angela (aka “Alien Girl,” played by Natalia Romanycheva), the sister of a gang member who is about to cut a deal with the police. In order to exert influence over him before he testifies, his boss dispatches four of his best hit men, who set off on a trip to Prague to bring Angela back to the Ukraine and hold her hostage. But what starts off as a war between rival gang members and all those standing in their way, soon becomes a game of manipulation,...

Check out an English-subtitled trailer for Anton Bormatov’s gritty mob flick “Alien Girl”, which is based on a best-selling Russian comic of the same name by one Vladimir “Adolfych” Nesterenko. The title is a reference to Ridley Scott’s film about that famous acid-spewing home invader, in that “Alien Girl’s” titular girl preys on a group of four mob killers sent to retrieve her. Hey, don’t mess with the bull lest you’re willing to get horned, I always say. The trailer is Red Band for uber violence, T&A, and sex. Got your attention now, don’t I? Ukraine – (The 1990’s) Amidst a violent clash between two rival gangs, their very existence hinges on a woman named Angela (aka “Alien Girl,” played by Natalia Romanycheva), the sister of a gang member who is about to cut a deal with the police. In order to exert influence over him before he testifies,...