East of the West - Competition 2019 / Byk / Russia 2019
Gang leader Anton Bykov, known as the Bull, ends up at the police station after a scuffle with a rival criminal group. He only manages to avoid prison thanks to the intervention of a feared mafia boss, who nevertheless asks him to pull off a risky job in return. A taut feature debut from one-time ballet dancer Boris Akopov, surprising for its maturity and compulsive dynamism.
At the end of the 1990s Russia is finding it tough to get back on its feet after the breakup of the USSR – the country is ravaged by economic and moral decay, a fact reflected in the proliferation of local criminal gangs. The leader of one such group, a young guy known as the Bull, ends up at the police station after a scuffle with a rival mob. He only manages to avoid prison thanks to the intervention of a feared mafia boss, who nevertheless asks him to pull off a risky job in return. Former ballet dancer and graduate of VGIK Boris Akopov offers up an exceptionally mature feature debut, a taut drama whose energetic soundtrack, compulsive narrative rhythm and raw performances faithfully capture the hostile spirit of post-Soviet Russia.
Natalia Kozáková
99 min / Color, DCP
International premiere
Director Boris Akopov
/ Screenplay Boris Akopov
/ Dir. of Photography Gleb Filatov
/ Music Boris Akopov, Anton Bulle
/ Editor Boris Akopov
/ Art Director Nikita Evglevsky
/ Producer Fedor Popov, Vladimir Malyshev
/ Production VGIK – Debut
/ Cast Yuri Borisov, Stasya Miloslavskaya
/ Contact VGIK - Debut
Boris Akopov. Filmography: Paradise (Raj, 2016, short), The Bull (Byk, 2019)
VGIK - Debut
Wilhelm Pieck 3, 129 226, Moscow
Russia
Phone: +7 499 143 9289
E-mail: [email protected]
Fedor Popov
Producer
Boris Akopov
Film Director
Yuri Borisov
Actor
Lala Rustamova
Creative Producer
Victoriia Leshenko
Executive Producer
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