On Friday 4th November, the 5th Russian Film Festival opens with the UK premiere of Generation P, the adaptation of Victor Pelevin’s cult novel.

The film will be presented by director Victor Ginzburg and leading actors. The film portrays the complex and often absurd story of how today’s Russia came into being. The showing also coincides with The Russian National Unity Day.

GENERATION P

While the Soviet Union was falling apart at the seams, living out its final days, Western brands began rapidly flooding the post-Soviet market. With his nose to the ground, main character Babilen Tatarsky sets up his own advertising agency with a mission to popularise new products, helped by fun, catchy slogans adapted for the “Soviet mentality”. And so begins a new era. An era of destroying outdated ideals. The youth brought up on these advertising captions will later become known as “generation Pepsi”.

MAIN PROGRAMME

The main programme of the 5th Russian Film Festival will include the 10 best Russian feature films of the year, made by a new generation of Russian film directors. All films have received recognition at prestigious international and national festivals and have been specially selected for the Russian Film Festival by the programme director, Andrei Plakhov, President of FIPRESCI. Further, the Russian Film Festival in London is the only event where all these acclaimed films will be shown in one single place and presented by their world famous directors and actors, who will join us for Q&As and discussions.

The festival gives a platform to Russia’s new wave of filmmakers and their award winning films:

Elena by Andrei Zvyagintsev – Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2011 Cannes
Indifference by Oleg Flyangolts – Grand Prix at the Kinotavr Film Festival 2011.
Twilight Portrait by Angelina Nikonova- Golden Puffin prize at the 2011 Reykjavik International Film Festival
Innocent Saturday by Aleksandr Mindadze – Golden Iris Award and Young Jury Award at Brussels Film Festival
Gromozeka by Vladimir Kott – 3 men’s lives unravel and unknowingly cross again as they struggle with ordinary life and nostalgia in contemporary Moscow.
Hunter by Bakur Bakuradze – Ivan is loyal to his farm and family but this calm life is shaken when two female prisoners on work release come to the farm.
Target by Alexander Zeldovich – a philosophical futuristic look at Russia in 2020