Official Selection - Out of Competition 2009 / Stiljagi / Russia 2008
Weird Komsomol member Mels infiltrates and settles in with a group of hipsters who rave about the American lifestyle and revolt against the conditions they have to live with in 1955. Retro-musical scenes alternate with sequences where witty hyperbole is used to reflect both the state of mind and lifestyle of various levels of the Soviet population, and also young people’s desire for forbidden fruit.
It’s 1955. Stalin has been dead two years, but not even Khrushchev’s thaw can prevent Komsomol shock troops hounding fans of American rhythms and fashion. The student Mels (Marx-Engels-Lenin-Stalin) finds himself part of their crowd when he falls in love with Polya. He joins a gang of hipsters who meet up on Moscow’s "Broadway” (Gorky/Tverskaya street), then gets himself an eccentric outfit and is soon a hit on the dance floor as well. He is expelled from college and finds himself a substitute – the saxophone. He now goes by the name Mel and has the lovely Polya by his side... Retro-musical scenes alternate with sequences in which the director uses witty hyperbole to present the state of mind and lifestyle of various levels of the Soviet population. The young people’s craving for forbidden fruit will leave both an intoxicating and bitter taste in their mouths. Mel’s mentor Fred goes back to being Fyodor as soon as his high-ranking father fixes him up with a job in America. But he comes back to Moscow with bad news: they’re wearing different fashions over there and there’s no sign of any rebellion…
125 min / Color, 35 mm
International premiere
Director Valery Todorovsky
/ Screenplay Jurij Korotkov / Yuri Korotkov
/ Dir. of Photography Roman Vasjanov / Roman Vasyanov
/ Music Konstantin Meladze
/ Editor Alexej Bobrov / Alexey Bobrov
/ Producer Leonid Lebeděv / Leonid Lebedev, Leonid Jarmolnik / Leonid Yarmolnik, Vadim Gorjajnov / Vadim Goryainov, Valerij Todorovskij / Valery Todorovsky
/ Production Krasnaya Strela - Red Arrow Company
/ Cast Oksana Akinšina / Oksana Akinshina, Anton Šagin / Anton Shagin, Jevgenija Brik / Evgeniya Brik
/ Contact Central Partnership, Hollywood Classic Entertainment, Krasnaya Strela - Red Arrow Company
/ Distributor Hollywood Classic Entertainment
www: www.stilyagifilm.ru
Valery Todorovsky (b. 1962, Odessa) studied screenwriting at VGIK (1988) and wrote the scripts for the successful films Dvoynik (1986), Gambrinus (1990), Cynics (Cyniki, 1991), and Over the Dark Water (Nad tyomnoy vodoy, 1993). He debuted as a director with Mortuary Car (Katafalk, 1989, Golden Ducat in Mannheim). This was followed by the acclaimed films Love (Lyubov, 1991), an updated film version of Nikolai Leskov’s novel Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District entitled Katya Ismailova (Podmoskovniye vechera, 1994), the drama The Land of the Deaf (Strana glukhikh, 1997), The Lover (Lyubovnik, 2002), My Stepbrother Frankenstein (Moy svodny brat Frankenshteyn, 2004), screened in competition at Karlovy Vary, and Vice (Tiski, 2007). Hipsters is his attempt at the musical genre. Todorovsky also works as a film producer.
Central Partnership
15,1st Zachatievsky Lane, 119 034, Moscow
Russia
Phone: +7 495 777 49 61
Fax: +7 495 799 56 70
E-mail: [email protected]
Hollywood Classic Entertainment
Psohlavců 8, 147 00, Praha 4
Czech Republic
Phone: +420 226 224 111
Fax: +420 226 224 110
E-mail: [email protected]
Krasnaya Strela - Red Arrow Company
Krasina Street, Building 7/2, 123056, Moscow
Russia
Phone: +7 495 504 2223
Fax: +7 495 504 2223
E-mail: [email protected]
Armen Dishdishyan
Sales Agent
Valery Todorovsky
Film Director, Film Director
Lucie Mazůrková
Distributor
Igor Konyukov
Distributor
Marta Vaněčková
Distributor
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