Derby Film Festival Guests Confirmed
Friday 1 May – Sunday 10 May 2015
Derby Quad



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Dir. Andrey Zvyagintsev Russia 2011 109 mins (12) Russian with English subtitles.
In a film about two Russian families, Elena lives in the upmarket apartment of wealthy businessman Vladimir. Across the city in a high-rise block is Elena’s son and his family, including her grandchildren who she wants to support. Elena appears to move between two worlds in modern Russia. The re-appearance of Vladimir’s grown-up daughter, a former ‘wild child’, represents a new challenge for Elena in this moral tale.
‘Sensational’ (Tim Robey, Telegraph)
‘A subtle Russian marvel’ (Peter Bradshaw, Guardian)
‘. . . a compelling comic drama full of tension and irony (Philip French, Observer)
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Dir. Adoor Gopalakrishnan India 1981 121 mins (PG) Malayalam with English subtitles.
One of the best films from one of India’s greatest filmmakers, Rat Trap stands as an outstanding example of the ‘New Cinema’ that emerged in India in the 1970s. The trap of the title is both real and metaphorical, referring to the lingering death of the feudal system in rural Kerala, South India, in the years following independence. The head of a land-owning family refuses to recognise the changes taking place in world around him and turns on his own sisters and servants – behaviour not unlike the rats trapped in the old house.
The characters’ costumes are carefully ‘colour coded’ and the music is equally important in supporting and developing the story. The story and its presentation has an international appeal while still being grounded in the artistic traditions of Kerala. Because of this and the technical mastery on display the film won many prizes including the Sutherland Trophy from the British Film Institute.
This is a beautiful film and an all-time classic of global cinema.
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Every few years the international film community discovers a new director whose films win prizes at festivals and new fans around the world. Andrey Zvyagintsev first attracted attention with The Return in 2003, followed by The Banishment in 2007 and Elena in 2011. The director’s fourth feature Leviathan was one of the most celebrated and controversial films of 2014 and given the current belligerence of the Russian state, Zvyagintsev’s oblique commentaries on Russian society have begun to attract attention in the news media. What makes these films so compelling and distinctive?
This day school will introduce Zvyagintsev as an unusual figure in contemporary cinema who worked for many years as an actor before directing an episode of a television drama series aged 36 in 2000. The move into feature films was rapid and The Return’s award of the Golden Lion in Venice was a reminder of another début win by Tarkovsky’s Ivan’s Childhood in 1962.
Zvyagintsev’s film’s have attracted audiences for three main reasons and these will be the focus of the Day School:
The day will include a complete screening of Zvyagintsev’s third feature Elena plus discussion-based sessions with extracts from the other three films and complementary material from Tarkovsky and Ceylan. The screening will be part of our public programme.
The day will run from 10.30 am to 4.30 pm and tickets cost £18 and £15 concessions. Tea and coffee is included in the price, as is the screening of Elena.
There will be a short break for lunch before the public screening at 1pm.
Elena
dir. Andrey Zvyagintsev, Russia 2011 Cert 12, 109 mins, Russian with English subtitles.
In a film about two Russian families, Elena lives in the upmarket apartment of wealthy businessman Vladimir. Across the city in a high-rise block is Elena’s son and his family, including her grandchildren who she wants to support. Elena appears to move between two worlds in modern Russia. The re-appearance of Vladimir’s grown-up daughter, a former ‘wild child’, represents a new challenge for Elena in this moral tale.
‘Sensational’ (Tim Robey, Telegraph)
‘A subtle Russian marvel’ (Peter Bradshaw, Guardian)
‘. . . a compelling comic drama full of tension and irony (Philip French, Observer)
Follow @ReelSolutions