What's going on in Saint Petesburg? Check St. Petesburg times
Hollywood Stars Shoot Film About Siege of Leningrad
By Angelina Davydova SPECIAL TO THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES
A new film called "Leningrad," set during World War II and starring Hollywood stars, U.S.-born Mira Sorvino and Irish-born Gabriel Byrne is being shot in St. Petersburg.
The film is one of the most ambitious attempts to tell the story of wartime St. Petersburg, then known as Leningrad, which German and Finnish armies surrounded for almost 900 days, causing at least 700,000 citizens to die, most of them from starvation. The complete breaking of the siege in 1944 was celebrated with a series of events in the city Thursday. The film is produced by a Russian-American team and supported by Russia's state-owned television company, but the budget has not been disclosed.
"Leningrad" is to be released no earlier than 2006 in two versions: a Russian and English version will be a two-hour feature film for cinema release; the other Russian version will be televised on Pervy Kanal as an 8-hour series.
Leading Russian actors in the film include, Alexander Abdulov, Yevgeny Sidikhin, Valentina Talyzina and Valentin Gaft.
The film tells the story of a British journalist who is played by Sorvino. She comes to Leningrad on a press tour and decides to stay for the first three deadly months of the siege. She makes friends with a policewoman (played by Olga Sutulova) and two children, and together they struggle to survive.
"The film shows the realities of war and the siege through the eyes of two ordinary young women, representing the Soviet and British points of view," Alexander Buravsky, the film's director and screenwriter, said Wednesday on the film set on Millionnaya Ulitsa.
The film portrays historic figures, including Wilhelm von Leeb (played by Armin Mueller-Stahl), commander of the German Army Group North, which besieged Leningrad, Hitler and the city's Communist Party boss Andrei Zhdanov.
"When writing the script, I was inspired by two books - 'The Blockade Book' by Ales Adamovich, and Daniil Granin and '900 Days: the Siege of Leningrad' by Harrison Salisbury," Buravsky said.
"I don't think any great feature films have been made about the Siege of Leningrad yet - the only great movie that crosses my mind was the documentary 'Altovaya Sonata' directed by Alexander Sokurov," he said. "That's why I decided to write and direct a new film about the siege."
Buravsky says the film may not be a hit in Russia, where people are "tired of death, hunger, and our recent painful history," but it will be a revelation to Western audiences, who are not familiar with the history of the siege.
The film is one of the most ambitious attempts to tell the story of wartime St. Petersburg, then known as Leningrad, which German and Finnish armies surrounded for almost 900 days, causing at least 700,000 citizens to die, most of them from starvation. The complete breaking of the siege in 1944 was celebrated with a series of events in the city Thursday. The film is produced by a Russian-American team and supported by Russia's state-owned television company, but the budget has not been disclosed.
"Leningrad" is to be released no earlier than 2006 in two versions: a Russian and English version will be a two-hour feature film for cinema release; the other Russian version will be televised on Pervy Kanal as an 8-hour series.
Leading Russian actors in the film include, Alexander Abdulov, Yevgeny Sidikhin, Valentina Talyzina and Valentin Gaft.
The film tells the story of a British journalist who is played by Sorvino. She comes to Leningrad on a press tour and decides to stay for the first three deadly months of the siege. She makes friends with a policewoman (played by Olga Sutulova) and two children, and together they struggle to survive.
"The film shows the realities of war and the siege through the eyes of two ordinary young women, representing the Soviet and British points of view," Alexander Buravsky, the film's director and screenwriter, said Wednesday on the film set on Millionnaya Ulitsa.
The film portrays historic figures, including Wilhelm von Leeb (played by Armin Mueller-Stahl), commander of the German Army Group North, which besieged Leningrad, Hitler and the city's Communist Party boss Andrei Zhdanov.
"When writing the script, I was inspired by two books - 'The Blockade Book' by Ales Adamovich, and Daniil Granin and '900 Days: the Siege of Leningrad' by Harrison Salisbury," Buravsky said.
"I don't think any great feature films have been made about the Siege of Leningrad yet - the only great movie that crosses my mind was the documentary 'Altovaya Sonata' directed by Alexander Sokurov," he said. "That's why I decided to write and direct a new film about the siege."
Buravsky says the film may not be a hit in Russia, where people are "tired of death, hunger, and our recent painful history," but it will be a revelation to Western audiences, who are not familiar with the history of the siege.
posted by Eduard at 2:04 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home