Archive of films Elena / Jelena

Russia
2011, 109 min

Section: Horizons
Year: 2011

The heroine of the drama by renowned Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev is Elena, a timid, submissive housewife. However, when the financial security of her son and grandson is threatened, Elena decides to act. As in his previous works, the director’s third film forces the viewer to consider perennial issues of life and death. Elena closed the Un Certain Regard programme at this year’s Cannes IFF and was awarded the Special Jury Prize in this section.

Synopsis

Elena (the outstanding Nadezhda Markina) is a timid, submissive housewife of humble origins. In contrast, her husband Vladimir, whom she married late in life, is very well off. When Vladimir becomes ill and the financial security of her son and grandson is left hanging in the balance, Elena decides to take action. As in his previous work, the celebrated Russian director’s third film forces the viewer to reflect upon issues of life and death. Zvyagintsev says of Elena: "Deep within, every human being is desperately alone. Loneliness is the beginning and the end, the leitmotif which threads its way through the life of every person.” The movie’s visual side was entrusted to the director’s regular cinematographer Mikhail Krichman, whose intriguing, carefully composed shots, together with Philip Glass’s unsettling music, make for a rewarding experience for the audience. The film rounded off the Cannes Un Certain Regard programme this year, winning its Special Jury Prize.

About the director

Andrey Zvyagintsev (b. 1964, Novosibirsk) graduated from the Novosibirsk Actors School (1984) and from the GITIS acting faculty in Moscow (1990). He was involved as an actor in several stage projects and appeared in episodic roles in TV series and also in films, such as Shirli-Myrli (1995, dir. Vladimir Menshov, screened at Karlovy Vary in 1996). In 2003 he debuted with the feature film The Return (Vozvrashchenie), which won the Golden Lion at the Venice IFF and was awarded the title European Discovery of the Year at the European Film Awards in 2003. His next film The Banishment (Izgnanie) was selected for the Cannes competition in 2007, where the actor in the lead role, Konstantin Lavronenko, won the Best Actor award. Elena is his third feature.

Contacts

Pyramide International
32 rue de l’Echiquier, 750 10, Paris
France
Tel: +33 142 960 220
Fax: +33 140 200 551
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.pyramidefilms.com

Hollywood Classic Entertainment
Psohlavců 8, 147 00, Praha 4
Czech Republic
Tel: +420 226 224 111
Fax: +420 226 224 110
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.hce.cz

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About the film

Color, 35 mm

Section:	Horizons

Director:	Andrey Zvyagintsev
Screenplay:	Oleg Negin, Andrey Zvyagintsev
Dir. of Photography:	Mikhail Krichman
Editor:	Anna Mass
Producer:	Ekaterina Shneyderova
Production:	NON-STOP Production
Cast:	Andrey Smirnov, Nadezhda Markina, Elena Lyadova, Alexey Rozin
Contact:	Pyramide International, Hollywood Classic Entertainment
Distributor:	Hollywood Classic Entertainment

Guests

Lucie Mazůrková

Distributor

Michal Kroupa

Distributor, Distributor