The 34th Window to Europe Russian film festival opened in Vyborg, dedicating its annual edition to actor Yevgeny Leonov ahead of what would have been his 100th birthday in September. Festival organizers honored Leonov with an animation program showcasing characters voiced by him, including Winnie the Pooh. Every festival screening features an intro clip from Aleksandr Mitta's film Shine, Shine, My Star, in which Leonov's character Pashka the filmmaker discusses survival at a table with Fyodor, played by Oleg Yefremov, and Iskremas, played by Oleg Tabakov.
Festival president Sergei Ursulyak arrived in Vyborg for a single day from the set of his new adaptation of War and Peace to host the opening ceremony. Ursulyak sarcastically joked on stage that director Sarik Andreasyan had barely finished his own adaptation of Tolstoy's novel before Ursulyak began shooting a remake. Co-host Anna Zavtur, an actress from the Maly Drama Theatre under Lev Dodin, revealed that Ursulyak had previously rejected her in an audition, preventing her from joining the Rostov family cast.
Tolstoy exhibition and opening film
At the Hermitage Vyborg exhibition center, an exhibition titled Getting as Close as Possible to Tolstoy opened in collaboration with the State L.N. Tolstoy Museum. The display marks the 60th anniversary of Sergei Bondarchuk's film adaptation of War and Peace while tying into the current dual production of Tolstoy's work.
The festival opened with the feature film It's All Her, originally titled Malvina, which spent five years in production. Director Yevgeny Sangadzhiev and Ukrainian musician Illya Dorn were initially set to helm and star in the project in 2021 before the team was replaced. Director Daria Charusha took over, and Anastasia Ivleeva replaced Dorn until controversy over a naked party prompted another cast change.
Anastasia Belova eventually took the role of Malvina, voiced by Yulia Khlynina. Marina Vasilyeva stars as Vasilisa, a Gnesin Academy graduate working as a waitress alongside staff dressed as Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley. Vasilisa lives in an imaginary world with her invisible companion Malvina, similar to Junior and Karlson, while her childhood crush Stasik, played by Nikita Yefremov, has become a famous ballet star heading to Beijing. The film was produced by the producer behind The Master and Margarita.
Director masterclass and jury expectations
Last year's festival opened with Stas Ivanov's film Gelya, a drama about a pearlescent Gelendwagen partly filmed in Vyborg. Ivanov, director of One Day, Germans, YUZZZ, High Season, and Basta. Beginning of the Game, returned to Vyborg to lead a masterclass on the film industry.
Ivanov described himself as a specialist in lad cinema who hopes to transition to other genres. He said demand for such films will only decline once older industry figures leave, noting that producers often lower standards and view audiences as incapable of thought. Ivanov called crime drama the fuel of the Russian film industry while stating that Russia cannot produce Hollywood-level action movies.
Director Pavel Lungin, who heads the narrative feature competition jury, said he still hopes to see wild and unpredictable films during the festival.
