Russian “Wolfy” Conquering Karlovy Vary Pack

Yana Troyanova and Vassily Sigarev at the press conference for “Wolfy.” Image courtesy of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

“I wanted to tell a story of a mother and daughter, and of God, who should be there with them but for some reason isn’t,” Sigarev said at the film’s press conference.  “The primary goal was to capture a child’s memories on film, however cruel they might be.”

Sigarev - a renowned playwright in his native Russia - adapted the film from his own play. “Wolfy” marks his cinematic debut, and he was coy in returning journalist’s questions as to whether he would continue to work in film. “For me, [‘Wolfy’] doesn’t mean losing theater nor leaning towards filmmaking,” he said.

Sigarev also acknowledged that much of the script came about on the basis of Yana Troyanova’s childhood memories, which makes her performance all the more terrifying.  Suggestively playing some version of one her own parental figures, Troyanov makes Mo’Nique’s similarly abusive character in “Precious” look angelic in comparison.

“I’ve often heard that people would like to kill me for playing this role and I know that means I acted it well,” Troyanov said at the press conference. “I played absolute evil.”

Karlovy Vary’s mid-week presentation of “Wolfy” was its second festival screening, after winning best film, best actress and best screenplay at the Sochi International Film Festival a few weeks back.  It’s likely just the beginning of the film’s festival presence, though Sigarev warned that he’s not expecting any audience awards.

“It’s no audience hit because it’s not a movie for everybody,” he said. “But the jury in Sochi voted for it unanimously.”

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival continues through this weekend.