The film, co-produced by Apple Film Production, Telewizja Polska S.A. (Polish Television), with the support of Krzysztof Zanussi’s TOR Film Production, had been directed by Aleksey German Jr., one of the most recognized and most frequently awarded (i.a. Silver Lions at the Venice Film Festival) Russian directors of the young generation. Among the actors cast in main roles we will see Piotr Gąsowski, whose command of Russian is excellent.
‘Under Electric Clouds’ consists of interconnected stories about Russia, spanning the last 20 years. A bitter story where the past, present and future constantly intertwine and where every one of these perspectives is strong enough to oppose the others.
German’s film has already received critical acclaim – right after the film’s premiere at the Berlinale, Lee Marshall’s review in the Screen International began with powerful expressions: ‘A dense, sprawling, melancholy, angry parable that deploys seven interconnected stories to probe the diseased soul of contemporary Russia, Alexey German Jr.’s new film is a fragmented tour de force, a ravishingly shot, thought-provoking triumph of non-linear filmmaking. Slowly assembling its cinematic mosaic piece by piece, and saturated with references to Russian history, politics, art, literature and social issues, it demands commitment of its audience; in comparison another recent Russian masterpiece, Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Leviathan, plays like an action movie. But once you surrender to the film’s slow dance it becomes strangely mesmerising’.
Dariusz Jabłoński, the film’s Polish co-producer does not hide his pride: ‘Together with Aleksey German Jr., we – Apple Film Production, Telewizja Polska S.A. and TOR Film Production – won this Silver Bear for the Polish audience, helping create the most important film about modern Russia. As a Russian critic wrote just after the premiere: ‘German overtook us and looks from a distance not only at the future but also at the last 100 years of Russian history: the film, shot for a long time, like a sniper, aims at the atmosphere of collapse that is sucking us in, a feeling of a war raging and approaching disaster, smoldering somewhere beyond the frame’.
Juliusz Braun, President of the Polish Television, Telewizja Polska S. A., the film’s co-producer, commented on the award for the film: ‘Telewizja Polska, being a public television, serves as a national cultural institution which takes part in most important cultural undertakings, Polish and international, on the highest level. This Silver Bear is a perfect confirmation of the above’.
‘Under Electric Clouds’ has been produced by Mertafilms (Russia), Linked Films (Ukraine) in coproduction with Channel One (Russia), Apple Film Production (Poland) and Telewizja Polska S.A. with the support of the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Ukrainian State Film Agency, Saga Film (Russia), TOR Film Production (Poland) and Studio Metranom (Rosja).
Boutique Films is the film’s international sales agent.
