Living (Zhit)

• Director: Vasili Sigarev
• Writer: Vasili Sigarev
• Cast: Yana Sekste, Dmitriy Kulichkov, Aleksei Pustovoitev, Aleksey Filimonov, Yana Troyanova, Olga Lapshina
• Theatrical Release Date:

Synopsis: A man cycles on to a river bank and disappears. Two young people, Grishka and Anton, decide to get married but run foul of a brutal assault on a train. Galya, a middle-aged woman whose daughters are in temporary care, waits for their return. These three stories remain separate, but are interwoven in this impressive second feature by leading Russian dramatist Vasili Sigarev, whose controversial Wolfy was shown at the LFF in 2009. Set in a small town in the director’s home province of Yekaterinburg, it provides powerful portraits of characters and stories drawn from local life. Sigarev’s subject is that of death in life, how people react to unexpected tragedy, with the links between living and dead portrayed through engaging and realistically expressed fantasy. Powerfully acted with resonant visual imagery, Living confirms Sigarev as one of the most talented of the new Russian directors.