North American Premiere / Russian Federation / 2025 / Russian w/English subtitles / 103 min / Melodrama
Director: Anton Maslov; Writer: Maria Maslova; Producers: Eduard Iloyan, Denis Zhalinsky, Vitaly Shlyappo; Camera: Valery Makhmudov; Editor: Kirill Abramov. Key Cast: Yulia Peresild, Vladimir Vdovichenkov, Ekaterina Voronina, Kirill Rusin, Sofia Zaika.
Contact: hanna@eastwood.agency
SYNOPSIS: Katerina works in a registry office. She helps seal loving hearts, while her own marriage has been on hold for a long time. Katerina’s husband has been in a coma for five years, and the family seems to be stuck with him. A new love brings a major change in Katerina’s life, forcing her to make choices that she was previously afraid to make.
Director Biography – Anton Maslov
Born 16 July 1987 in Volgograd. Graduated from the directing department of the Wordshop communication academy of BBDO, Igor Voloshin’s workshop. Winner of TEFI, the Association of Film and Television Producers Award, the National Internet Content Award (IRI) and others. Nominated for the Golden Eagle. Lives and works in Moscow.
Director Statement
The script for this film is 7 years old, but we just made it. It’s a conflict that appealed to us then and still does.
It is a film about love. Our character Katerina has to make a very serious choice in this love. When do you have the right to love again? Does a person even have the right to love a second time? And who is the obstacle to our happiness? Is it us? And above all, is it worth living a life of waiting?
Every day we wait for life to change but maybe we should be happy here and now? Katerina will make her choice and I’m sure she will be happy. The original title of the film was ‘Life in a Coma’ and it’s definitely a reflection of the world in which the main character’s family, and some of us, live.
I always make films for a wide audience and I’m very happy to have the opportunity to make small but nice films between the fairytale blockbuster worlds. People don’t go to the cinema to see melodramas anymore, but they really want to watch them at home and feel something warm in their souls.
I love the genre of melodrama and it was a huge study for me as a filmmaker. If someone says that a quality melodrama is simple, I won’t believe them. Yulia Peresild said on the set that it’s very difficult to be honest in a film like this. I believe her, she flew into space. It was definitely a challenge for me, and I’m glad that the artists, crew and producers were able to support me in this experiment.
Let’s make melodramas – the world will be a kinder place.