The 2019 Festival will screen 16 brand new features and three retrospective classics across Perth (25-30 October), Brisbane (5-13 November), Canberra(6-10 November), Sydney (7-17 November), Melbourne (8-17 November), Gold Coast (9-10 November) & Adelaide (14-17 November).

“We’re thrilled to bring you the best Russian cinema of 2019! This year’s program features the distinctive perspectives of Russian filmmakers, showcasing both seasoned cinematic legends and the voices of rising stars,” Festival Director Nicholas Maksymow said. “From scintillating spy thrillers, to irreverent romantic comedies and avant-garde arthouse drama, this is one of our strongest programs yet.”

As is tradition with the Russian Resurrection Film Festival, audiences across Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra will be treated to a stellar opening night film accompanied by the biggest and wildest opening night party. Leave your inhibitions at the door and dive headfirst into a Russian extravaganza teeming with ice cold vodka, tasty traditional delicacies, dancing and raucous live entertainment.

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
Big budget fantasy adventure Journey to China, sees international action-legends Jackie Chan (Rush Hour) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (Terminator) join forces on a supernatural journey from London to China jam-packed with breathtaking discoveries, bizarre creatures, Chinese princesses, deadly martial arts masters and a Dragon King.

Audiences can also look forward to historical drama Beanpole, which earned director Kantemir Balagov the Un Certain Regard Best Director Award and the FIPRESCI Prize for Best Film. Set during the devastation of World War II in Soviet-era Leningrad, the film is a powerful exploration of the lasting psychological, financial and physical impacts of war on society.

ACTION
Mind-blowing stunts abound in thrill-a-minute spy drama Hero starring local favourite Alexander Petrov (Attraction) as a former Secret Service student forced to run for his life after being double-crossed by his agency; historic-epic Tobol, chronicles a Tsar guard of the Russian Empire’s perilous journey to a distant fortress in wild Siberia where he finds both romance and mortal danger; and the controversial must-see war-drama Leaving Afghanistan, which has drawn criticism from some Russian politicians for its an unvarnished portrayal of the real life events that led to the USSR withdrawal from the Soviet-Afghan war in 1989.

COMEDIES
This year’s program features a stellar selection of comedies including: the razor-sharp Mistresses, an empowered revenge story about three women who team up to take down the philandering ex-lovers of jilted women; Another Woman, a character-driven comedy chronicling a woman’s desperate plot to win back her husband via any means necessary; and How I Became Russian, an irreverent rom-com about the increasingly ludicrous lengths a Chinese man must go to in order to win over the ultra-conservative family of his Russian bride to be.

DRAMAS
Dramas from award winning filmmakers include: Golden Eagle Award winner Valery Todorovsky’s (Hipsters) Odessa, a nostalgic examination of a dysfunctional family forced to spend time together when a cholera outbreak sends their city into lockdown; and Sochi Open Russian Film Festival Grand Prize winner Boris Akopov’s The Bull, a taut arthouse drama set in the 1990s that recaptures the hostile spirit of post-Soviet Russia through the eyes of a young gang leader embattled by his brushes with the law.
Not to be missed are impactful dramas: Temporary Difficulties, a challenging exploration of neglect, resentment and revenge based on a man born with a physical disability and his father; and moving melodrama Above the Sky, a sophisticated and visually resplendent romance about the complex and conflicting emotional experiences of children and their parents during adolescence.

THRILLERS
Edge-of-your-seat nail biters include: Outbreak, a gripping medical thriller about a family trapped in Moscow during the emergence of an unknown killer virus that paralyses the city; and high-stakes disaster thriller Breakaway, about a group of friends whose exciting New Year’s Eve plans turn deadly when their cable car breaks down above an icy abyss.

ANIMATION
Move over Frozen! Kids can look forward to the beautiful and uniquely Russian animation style of Snow Queen: Mirrorlands. In this captivating new instalment to the series, a powerful king loses his family at the hands of the villainous snow queen. He retaliates by banning all magic from the realm – trapping all the magicians in the treacherous Mirrorlands. A non-magical girl must embark on a mission to restore peace and magic to the land.

HORROR
Those yearning for spine-tingling horror will be treated to Kirill Sokolov’s award-winning 2019 Sydney Film Festival title Why Don’t You Just Die. The film chronicles a night of blood spurting mayhem that takes place when a group of disgruntled misfits are brought together under one roof. Set in one apartment, the film is a spectacularly gruesome non-linear carnival of carnage with a wicked injection of dark humour and stylistic nods to Tarantino.

RETROSPECTIVE
RRFF will present three retrospective features from influential Russian director Pavel Lungin’s remarkable catalogue. One of the few Soviet filmmakers to successfully make the transition to the post-Soviet period and to flourish under the new conditions. He has crafted a broad range of films from the masterly, epic tales of The Island (2006), Tsar (2009) Queen of Spades (2016) to hilarious tragi-comedies that capture the real world foibles of Russians from all walks of life and position him as one of the great auteurs of new Russian cinema. In 2019 we explore some of his early works.

Films screening as part of the retrospective program include: Lungin’s debut feature, winner of the 1990 Cannes Film Festival award for Best Director, Taxi Blues about the unlikely friendship between an alcoholic intellectual Jewish musician and a bitter, tormented, vaguely anti-Semitic taxi driver; hilarious melodrama The Wedding, about a couple of high school sweethearts whose dream wedding devolves into chaos at the hands of meddling relatives and a series of unlikely mishaps; and dramedy Roots, about a conman who tricks wealthy Jewish foreigners into purchasing “heritage” trips to meet lost family members abroad, only to have them meet fictional relatives.

Russian Resurrection Film Festival 2019
PERTH – Friday 25 October – Wednesday 30 October, Event Cinemas Innaloo
SYDNEY – Thursday 7 – Sunday 10 November, Event Cinemas George Street and Burwood
BRISBANE – Tuesday 5 – Wednesday 13 November, Event Cinemas Myer Centre
GOLD COAST – Saturday 9 November – Sunday 10 November, Pacific Fair Shopping Centre
CANBERRA – Wednesday 6 November – Sunday 10 November, Capitol Cinemas Manuka
MELBOURNE – Friday 8 November – Sunday 17 November, The Capital Melbourne
ADELAIDE – Thursday 14 November – Sunday 17 November, GU House Adelaide
www.russianresurrection.com

The growth of the festival has been quite extraordinary. Since its beginnings in 2003, when it was a small festival for the Russian community, the Russian Resurrection Film Festival has grown rapidly, tripling in size and geographic reach – covering Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Perth and New Zealand. The festival has been expanding Russian cinema and culture Australia-wide to become one of the oldest, largest and most respected Russian film festivals outside of Russia.

This year the festival has no shortage of highlights! There are two huge blockbusters: Flight Crew – the number one film at the 2016 Russian Box Office, and Icebreaker, an action adventure tale based on real events, and featuring at Brisbane’s opening night ahead of its Russian release! Other standouts include the winner of this year’s audience award at Sochi Open Russian Film Festival – the delightful comedy, The Good Boy and recent Cannes Film Festival hit, The Student, from director Kirill Serebrennikov that won the François Chalais Award for its dedication to the values of life affirmation and of journalism.

The program will screen from November 2 to November 9 at Event Cinemas Myer Centre and debuts the very best cinema Eastern Europe has to offer. Tickets are now on sale! Get social and share the word –   #RRFF2016.

For more information on the festival click here www.russianresurrection.com

Films not to miss:

Flight Crew (2016)
Экипаж

GENRE: Action-Adventure
DURATION: 124mins
DIRECTOR: Nikolai Lebedev
CAST: Danila Kozlovsky, Vladimir Mashkov, Agne Grudyte, Katerina Shpitsa, Sergey Kempo

A remake of the 1979 Russian blockbuster disaster movie, Flight Crew was the number one film at the 2016 Russian Box Office and sits inside the top six for all-time money-earners. During a flight to Asia the crew on board a passenger jet receives a message about an earthquake and makes the call to go to the epicenter of the disaster and evacuate the stranded people before the volcano erupts. A dangerous rescue mission ensues where working together is the crew’s only chance for survival. Flight Crew stars Russia’s biggest names in acting today – Danila Kozlovsky (Legend 17, Soulless 1 and 2) and Vladimir Mashkov (Kandahar, The Edge, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol).

Icebreaker (2016)
Ледокол

GENRE: Action
DURATION: 120mins
DIRECTOR: Nikolai Homeriki
CAST: Pyotr Fyodorov, Sergei Puskepalis, Anna Mikhalkova, Olga Filimonova, Alexander Yatsenko

Icebreaker is based on real events that took place in 1985. A huge iceberg stands in the way of icebreaker “Mikhail Gromov”. Avoiding collision, the ship nonetheless falls into an ice trap and is forced to drift near the coast of Antarctica. The crew of “Gromov” spent 133 days of polar night trying to find a way out of ice trap. The ominous silence and freezing temperatures create an eerie atmosphere that plunges audiences right into the middle of a lethal situation. Huge icebergs, little fuel and freezing temperatures mean that just one wrong decision will lead to a deadly end for the entire crew. From the makers of Metro (2013), this is a big budget disaster movie with an all-star cast. Viewers should strap themselves in tightly.

The Good Boy (2016)
Хороший мальчик

GENRE: Comedy
DURATION: 95mins
DIRECTOR: Oksana Karas
CAST: Semyon Treskunov, Konstantin Khabenskiy, Mikhail Efremov, Anastasia Bogatiryova
AWARDS

Winner of the Best Film and Audience’s Choice categories at the 2016 Kinotavr Film Festival, this playful romantic comedy looks at six adventure filled days of Kolya, a 16 year old schoolboy. In a whirlwind six days, he kisses the most popular girl in school, falls in love with his teacher, takes on the school bully and investigates a mysterious computer lab fire! Kolya must learn how to handle responsibility and do what is right, even if the adults don’t! This gem is packed with adventure and will be sure to keep audiences on their toes, for all the twists and turns young love brings.

Winner of the Best Film and Audience’s Choice categories at the 2016 Kinotavr Film Festival

The Student (2016)
УЧЕНИК

GENRE: Drama
DURATION: 119mins
DIRECTOR: Kirill Serebrennikov
CAST: Petr Skvortsov, Victoria Isakova, Julia Aug, Aleksandr Gorchilin, Aleksandra Revenko

Captivating audiences at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, was the latest offering from award-winning Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov. Veniamin, a teenager in the midst of a spiritualcrisis, has his entire life turned upside down by his own interpretation of the Bible and questions such as whether girls can go to swimming classes in bikinis, if sex education has a place in school and should the theory of evolution be taught as part of the Natural Sciences. Soon all the adults are overwhelmed by the certitudes of the youngster who swears only by Scripture. No one but Elena, his biology teacher, will challenge him on his own ground.

The Duelist (2016)
Дуэлиянт

GENRE: Drama-Thriller
DURATION: 120mins
DIRECTOR: Alexey Mizgirev
CAST: Pyotr Fyodorov, Vladimir Mashkov, Martin Wuttke, Julia Khlynina, Yuri Kolokolnikov Franziska Petri

Retired military officer, the dashing Yakovlev is an unbeatable gun-for-hire – a professional duellist. Set at a time when the nobility settled slights against honour by taking up swords or pistols against each other in highly regulated rituals. Negotiating the strict code of behaviour Yakovlev is a champion for the weak and unskilled, but only for the right price. But he harbors a dark secret; he is on the run for a crime he did not commit. This fugitive has revenge on his mind, but unexpectedly falls in love. However his new love is about to marry his nemesis, which ensures a tense fight between the two foes. This thrilling adventure is set in 1860 amongst the backdrop of Russia’s scenic 19th century capital with its glittering aristocratic high society. Starring renowned actors Fyodorov and Mashkov this is a handsome historical epic.

Russian Resurrection Festival 2016
Sydney 27th October to 5th November – Event Cinemas George Street and Event Cinemas Burwood
Canbera 1st November to 6th November – Capitol Cinemas Manuka
Brisbane 2nd November to 9th November – Event Cinemas Myer Centre
Perth 10th November to 16th November – Cinema Paradiso
Melbourne 10th November to 16th November – ACMI Federation Square
www.russianresurrection.com