Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation and Rock Studio Films Present 2019 Russian Film Week in New York, December 6 - 13, 2019

Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation (USA) and Rock Studio Films (Russia) are proud to present the 2019 Russian Film Week in New York (RFWNY) - a new film festival celebrating independent and commercial films that represents the dynamic landscape of Russian filmmaking today. The event, which will take place in New York City, December 6-13 at the SVA Theatre (333 W 23rd St), Peter Jay Sharp Theatre and Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theatre at Symphony Space (2537 Broadway) and the NYIT Auditorium on Broadway (1871 Broadway).

RFWNY was co-founded and successfully re-launched in 2018. This partnership aims to develop a multi-state, annual week-long showcase, in an effort to present independent, commercial, documentary and arthouse Russian films with subtitles to mainstream US audiences.

"At a time when some want to highlight differences among us, we want the 2019 Russian Film Week in New York to be a bridge to unite people across the oceans," said founders and presenters Maria Shclover and Irina Shabshis of The Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation. "We truly feel that artistry is a powerful force and can be the catalyst to show our commonalities."

For tickets and information, visit RUSSIANFILMWEEKUSA.COM.

Highlights of Russian Film Week in New York include:

ACID

Movie screening and discussion / Q&A with film director Alexander Gorchilin

Acid is a silent manifesto of the generation of twenty-year-olds in search for life's meaning. The main characters have been abandoned in a world adorned with concepts such as family, friendship, love, and opportunities. They justify their reckless and infantile behavior by the lack of communication with their parents, since they grew up without fathers. Now, the time has come for them to face adulthood.

ANOTHER WOMAN

Movie screening and discussion / Q&A with director Anna Parmas and actress Anna Rytsareva.

Masha's successful life has her completely consumed in her work until she discovers that her husband has been having an affair with his twenty-something fitness trainer. Her life begins to spin out of control, as she struggles to balance work, child-rearing and navigating the breakdown of her marriage. Desperate to keep her family together, Masha won't stop at anything to get her husband back, including turning to supernatural forces. But her new life opens up new opportunities, and she wonders if this old barely flickering flame is really worth reigniting. This feature-length comedy debut by Anna Parmas is full of superb performances and witty punchlines.

THE END OF THE SEASON

Movie screening and discussion / Q&A with director Konstantin Khudyakov

Prolific director Konstantin Khudyakov tells a story of three sisters who, as the USSR collapses, find themselves living in a small Baltic town. Despite a decade of adjusting to life in a new country they still feel like outsiders and long to get back to Moscow. The film draws inspiration from Chekov's play Three Sisters, and is brought to life by the formidable talent of its three female leads.

THE LENIN FACTOR

It's been almost three years since the start of World War I, the bloodiest war in the history of humanity. Vladimir Lenin is an immigrant, living in Zurich. Having devoted his life to preparing the revolution, Lenin "missed" its beginning and is now searching for an opportunity to return to Russia and annex control of the situation.

TEXT

Movie screening and discussion / Q&A with leading actor Alexander Petrov

Ilya Goryunov has spent seven years in prison on false charges of drug trafficking. When Ilya is free he realizes that the old life that he yearned for is no more. Although he did not intend to take revenge on the man who sent him to prison, now there is no other way out.

THE SNOW QUEEN: MIRRORLANDS (Animated movie)

A powerful king nearly lost his family due to the Snow Queen's evil deeds. He finds a way to withdraw all the magic from the world - they who master the magic powers get trapped in the Mirrorlands. The only one who can stop him and keep the fairytale in our world is Gerda - as her own superpower is not sorcery but her faith in kindness and friendship. The Snow Queen herself along with trolls and pirates will help Gerda in her new adventures.

VAN GOGHS

Movie screening and discussion / Q&A with Aleksey Serebryakov and Sergey Livnev conducted by the film's director Sergey Livnev

Winner of four Russian National Film Academy Awards (Nika), Van Goghs sensitively explores the complicated relationship between Mark Ginzburg, an artist, and his oppressive father Viktor, a famous conductor Mark moved from Latvia to Israel just to escape his father's shadow, but now circumstances have forced the two to live under the same roof again. Will they manage to see beyond their mutual dependency and rediscover the love they have for each other? An exceptionally moving film about families, and how they shape our expectations from - and perceptions of - life.