The Conference is the fourth feature of Russian director Ivan I. Tverdovskiy. Previous films of the 31-year old director have been the festival hits Corrections Class, Zoologia, and Jumpman.

At the core of The Conference is the tragic terrorist siege which took place in the Dubrovka Theatre in 2002. The attack involved 850 hostages and ended with the deaths of at least 170 people. Tverdovskiy’s film looks at the horrific tragedy through the eyes of the protagonist Natasha, a survivor who returns to the crime scene to confront her survivor’s guilt.

Nafta Films is handling postproduction, currently underway. The Estonian team includes well-known names as the composer Sten Sheripov, sound designer Horret Kuus and colorist Evar Anvelt. The postproduction coordinator is Jan Viljus (Tallinn Postworks). The project has been funded by the Estonian Film Institute with 60,000 EUR and Cultural Endowment of Estonia with 10,000 EUR. The Conference received 80,000 EUR of support from Eurimages.

Interational sales are handled by REASON8 Films

The film is set to be released in 2021.

Production information:

Producers:
Vega Film (Russia)
Ark Pictures (Russia)
Nafta Films (Estonia)

Coproducers:
Reason8 Films (UK)
Revolver Films production (Italy)
Producers: Katerina Mikhaylova, Konstantin Fam, Egor Odintsov
Coproducers: Ilya Medovyy, Diana Mikita, Denis Krupnov, Anna Krupnova, Paolo Maria Spina

Credits:
Director: Ivan I. Tverdovskiy
Script: Ivan I. Tverdovskiy
Cinematographer: Fedor Glazachev
Cast: Natalya Pavlenkova, Olga Lapshina, Kseniya Zueva, Aleksandr Semchev, Yan Tsapnik