Welcome 2017

It is remarkable that the Russian Resurrection in Australia and New Zealand remains the largest, oldest and most respected Russian film festival outside of Russia.  Welcome to the XIV Russian Resurrection Film Festival we have quite selection for you this year!

14 films have been chosen to celebrate one of the world’s most diverse film cultures. Viking, starring heart throbs Danila Kozlovsky and Svetlana Khodchenkova, is a thrilling, big-budget historic epic. In contrast, the award-winning Arrhythmia is a highly realistic, powerful and gripping arthouse drama. Russian cinema is known for its emotional intensity and Chukhray’s moving drama, Cold Tango, a film that brings to life the harrowing realities of what it is like to live in a country occupied by oppressive regimes. For something lighter see John Malkovich analyse the subject of love in About Love. Adults Only. Laugh out loud at the latest cook-off in The Kitchen – The Final Battle. Buckle up for the girls road-trip film, Blockbuster, and strap yourself in for Russia’s first alien invasion film, Attraction.

Russian cinema has long had a tradition of telling great stories and this year is no exception. The Bolshoi is Valery Todorovsky’s (Hipsters, The Lover) celebrated new film about a young dancer from the provinces striving to make it big in the extremely competitive world of Russian ballet in a film that was shot inside the Majestic Bolshoi Theatre itself. Russian cinema has returned to exploring stories about travel to outer space. We have selected two new but very different sci-fi films - Spacewalkers and Salyut-7.  Russian literary adaptations are internationally celebrated. Shakhnazarov offers an innovative adaptation of Tolstoy with an epic version of Anna Karenina: Vronsky’s Story. While Pique Dame is inspired by Alexander Pushkin’s gothic thriller as a love triangle psychodrama set in Russia’s opera world.  

2017 is the year legendary Soviet, Hollywood and Russian director, Andrei Konchalovsky, celebrates his 80th Birthday! An amazing achievement in film. His career spans over 45 years starting in the Soviet Union in the 60’s and 70’s (Nest of the Gentry and Uncle Vanya), before he moved to Hollywood in the 80’s where he directed a range of films including Runaway Train with Jon Voight and Tango & Cash starring Sylvester Stallone. His latest feature Paradise (2016), won the Golden Eagle and NIKA for Best Film, as well as the Silver Lion for Best Director at the Venice Film Festival.

This is just a taste of some of the great films that we have selected for this year. Thank you to the Russian Ministry of Culture, Event Cinemas, ACMI and Rialto Cinemas for bringing together the best new and old Russian Cinema.  

The Russian Resurrection Team