Hasan Arbakesh (1966)

Two Living and One Dead

Based on the 1931 novel To levende og en død by Sigurd Christiansen. A post office worker is left wrestling with his conscience following a robbery at his workplace.

You to Me, Me to You

Ivan Sergeevich Kashkin — the bath attendant of the most prestigious metropolitan bath. It’s not easy to get to him: reputable diplomats, well-known footballers, and the heads of the ministry are seeking the honor to steam. But Kashkin himself does not need to achieve anything, everything is at his service — from black caviar to tickets to the conservatory. And the hero’s cloudless life would have flowed, but then his twin brother Sergei fell ill and asked Ivan to replace him in his equally strange work.

Sasquatch Mountain

A lonely tow-truck driver gets caught in a deadly struggle between a pair of bank robbers with a beautiful hostage, local cops, and a monster that has come down from the Arizona mountains to eat human flesh.

Flow

A turbulent day in a life, painted by air.

Aadmi

Rajesh, is very insecure and possessive almost to the point of an obsession. He introduces Meena to his close and best friend, Dr. Shekhar, and soon gets formally engaged to Meena. Thereafter, Rajesh and Meena have an automobile accident, in which Rajesh becomes paralyzed and must be confined in a wheelchair. It is then that Rajesh finds out that Shekhar and Meena are having an affair, and the old murderous and possessive hatred, that he had managed to conceal, surfaces again - and this time will it will be Shekhar's turn.

Let's Move On

The film takes us back to a moving, exciting and unforgettable period in time, the time of Liberation and emancipation. A young teacher – Partisan arrives in a small Serbian town. His wartime, partisan “pedagogy” conflicts with the old methods of work in schools. The children, of course, stand by their teacher, their true friend. The film is a child’s memory and remembrance of an evil, cruel period that left deep imprints in the children’s sensitive and delicate soul of entire generations whose childhood was wounded in the war. The story unfolds over a period of several months, between the fall of 1944 and the summer of 1945, when somewhere far away, in Japan, the atomic bomb is fried to announce a new-atomic era.

I Catch a Terrible Cat

Mr. Takada is a successful mature writer who falls into a creative blockade following the death of her wife. Incapable of finishing the novel his fans demand anxiously, and about to turn seventy, he starts wandering several pubs in the city, until he meets Sayo, a beautiful young waitress with sentimental issues she doesn’t hesitate to share with her clients.

The Gospel According to Fascism - The Final Offense

If Jesus came to Earth today, would his teachings and philosophy be in line with the agitated moods we live in today? Batata Filmes presents a new collage project, mixing the playful Jesus of cinema with statements made by many of his followers, in an uncomfortable and provocative experience. Contains high offensive potential for small minds.

Flow

A filmmaker talks about his work and love life with an unseen friend behind the camera. We also watch four of his short films.

The Tales of Ensign Stål

Based on the poems by finnish poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg, the movie centers on the Finnish War between Russia and Sweden in 1808.

Whoever Dies, Dies in Pain

A botched police raid on a crack house turns into a 36 hour long siege in which the junkies share their perspective to the cameraman of a reality program.

Demon's Claw

A group of women while visiting a castle studying the history of a mad noblewoman from medieval times finds themselves drawn back into time and into her evil lair where they are expected to become her new handmaidens and endure her debauchery.

Two-Fisted Stranger

Arriving to become the new Deputy, Steve Gordon takes over as Sheriff instead when he finds the Sheriff has been killed. He doesn't last long and is fired for incompetence. But he realizes Brady is pulling off a swindle. Having found the proper soil, Brady has salted it with cheap diamonds, gotten Smiley to accidently find them, and is now taking money from eager investors and planning to flee with it.

The Parent

Struggling for a daughter, hooked on heroin, the father had to get acquainted with the underground life of Saint-Petersburg. He doesn’t trust the police. Together with his friend he unravels the drug dealers network in order to stop the drug addiction that conquered the city in the 90s. Will they have enough powers to make it to the end?

The Humorist

The Humorist is a film about a week in the life of Boris Arkadiev, a fictional Soviet stand-up comedian. Boris is tormented not only by external oppression and censorship but also by his own insecurities that poison all his relationships.

Because I Love

Fighter pilot Nikolai Muravyov is experiencing a personal drama: his wife and son left for the mainland - they are tired of life beyond the Arctic Circle. Colonel Belyy, thinking that his wife will return to her husband if he serves on the mainland, sends Nikolai on a business trip. In the new unit, Muravyov meets his fellow student Yevgeni Shelest. Friends have to fly in pairs.

The Albino's Trees

A poignant moral dilemma unfolding against lush mountainous landscapes, The Albino’s Trees follows Yuku (Ryohei Matsuoka), an animal control hunter who takes on a lucrative job to kill a rare white deer considered to be a god of the forest by a nearby village. Though Yuku initially steps up to the task in order to support his mother’s medical bills, his will begins to falter as he gets to know the villagers and the reasons behind their difficult choice to live as outsiders.

Despite the Falling Snow

New York, 1961. Alexander Ivanov, a high-ranked Soviet bureaucrat, reluctantly defects to the West while is part of a diplomatic mission, feeling the grief of being unable to know the fate of his wife Katya, whom he has had to leave behind in Moscow. Only many years later, in 1991, he will finally find out the truth when his niece Lauren travels to Moscow to participate in a painting exhibition.

Lieutenant Kizhe

A copying error by a military scribe turns the Russian words "the lieutenants, however" into what looks like "lieutenant Kizhe". The Tsar reads the error, and wants to meet this (non-existent) lieutenant. The courtiers, eager to avoid the wrath of the temperamental Tsar, create a Kizhe to serve as their royal scapegoat.

Men and Beasts

The plot is based on the dramatic fate of the Red Army commander Aleksei Ivanovich Pavlov. Having been captured in January 1942 and being among the displaced persons, he didn't immediately decide to return to the USSR. Having rolled around the foreign country for 17 years, Aleksei nevertheless returned to his homeland. He goes to his brother in the south of the country to Sevastopol. Aleksei accidentally meets the doctor Anna Andreyevna, who was saved from death in besieged Leningrad. She travels by car from Moscow and also to the south, with her daughter Tanya; she suggests he join them. Aleksei tells about his life on the road.

Between Borders

In a crumbling Soviet Union, the Petrosyan family finds themselves as outcasts—wherever they go. Their Armenian heritage marks them for discrimination, first in their home country of Azerbaijan and then in Russia. After finding their eternal hope through a church planted by American missionaries, the hostility of everyday life pushes them to seek refuge in the United States. In the shadow of exile, hope became their home. Based on a riveting true story of faith and hope set amidst great oppression.

Stone

Via the New York Times: "...a severely obscure meditation on pre-revolutionary Russia in the form of an encounter between a ghost from the past and the ghost's present-day guardian. In fact, the two characters seem to be the shade of Anton Chekhov and the young man who tends a Chekhov museum in the Crimea, though that is never made explicit."

Master and Tatyana

Lithuanian photographer, the legend of Soviet Sixties' generation Vitas Luckus tragically passed away in 1987. Yet the life and times of the talented rebel still impassion and lead us to a journey questioning why, at all times, we are wary of those who are really free.

World War III Breaks Out

The lives of several Japanese families are shattered as the USA and the USSR move toward war, Japan finds itself caught in the middle, and Tokyo is ultimately evacuated as the two superpowers invoke the 'nuclear option'.

Desire Under the Elms

An adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's play Desire Under the Elms.

Scarlet Sails

A little girl Assol met a wizard and it has been foretold: "... it will be a fine sunny day when a beautiful ship under scarlet sail comes and the noble prince will take you away from here. He'll take you to the world of your dreams, where you will be loved and happy." The neighbours told jokes about her, children teased her, but she waited for her prince. She trusted in the miracles and waited. Arthur Gray's rule was "if you can make a miracle, do it!". And he made a miracle for the wonderful romantic girl.

72 Degrees Below Zero

Antarctic station "Vostok" threatens conservation due to lack of fuel. Volunteer squad is called to take fuel, but will soon begin "Polar autumn" in Antarctica. No one has walked this way, when the temperature drops below 71 degrees Celsius and freezes fuels.

Three Times About Love

Former soldier returns to his village only to discover that his girlfriend married another man.

Velvet Season

In the fall of 1938, three former fighters of the international brigade — russian Shukhov, frenchman Henri and american Liz — fall into a resort town on the border of Spain and France. Having met a nurse who is supposed to send Spanish children to Corsica, they decide to help her. However, a fascist rebellion suddenly breaks out in the city, and the children are held hostage to criminals.

Light in the Window

Togrul loves his wife Leyla very much and is terribly jealous at the same time. His jealousy destroys the family, and even Togrul's mother, knowing her son's unfair treatment, decides to leave home with her daughter-in-law...

The Master and Margarita

A writer in 1930s Moscow has his work banned and is expelled from the official union, leaving him without income. He then writes a novel about a mysterious dark visitor and gradually starts confusing his real life with the story.

Show Boy

A heartbreaking story about the tragic love between a young soloist named Andrey Dymov and an equally young, but more experienced "Priestess of Love" named Masha.

Torrents of Steel

The victorious path of the Taman army through areas occupied by the white army in the last days of the civil war.

Gunpowder

At the end of September 1941, Soviet artillery troops in besieged Leningrad realize that pretty soon they will fire their last shot, and after that the defense of the city will be doomed. The film is based on a true event: a small group of fearless soldiers transported a large supply of gunpowder through enemy lines to Leningrad.

The Seventh Companion

A portrait of the era of "Red Terror" during the civil war that followed the Bolshevik revolution, The Seventh Companion offers a character study in General Adamov (Andrei Popov), a law professor in the tsarist army, who is incarcerated by the Bolshevik secret police along with many other members of the bourgeoisie. Finally released into the new world of the Soviet Union, the resigned officer finds that he has lost everything from his old life except a mantel clock that he carries through the night from place to place, until he ends up back where he started.

The New Babylon

In the short-lived Commune of Paris, a conscripted soldier falls in love with a Communard saleswoman. As the army cracks down on the revolutionaries, the soldier is forced to fight against the Commune, and the pair's love is put to the test.

The Earthquake

After the devastating Spitak earthquake of December 7th, Konstantin Berezhnoy, a 50-year-old Russian, and Robert Melkonyan, a 28-year-old Armenian, work together to rescue the desperate survivors.

The Lark

Russian prisoners of war commandeer a tank and lead the Nazis on a cross-country chase in this World War II adventure drama. The Russians use their own tanks so the Nazis can use them as target practice to test a new anti-tank weapon. Knowing that death is near, the brave Russians run amok and tear down German monuments before heading out to a field where female slave laborers are working.

Hitman

A genetically engineered assassin with deadly aim, known only as "Agent 47" eliminates strategic targets for a top-secret organization. But when he's double-crossed, the hunter becomes the prey as 47 finds himself in a life-or-death game of international intrigue.

Hostile Waters

Based on true events, an American submarine collides into a Soviet sub of the coast of America and an ensuing standoff occurs that could lead to total annihilation.

The Journalist

A successful young journalist goes to a small industrial city in order to understand the written complaints of a certain girl. When he met the author of the letters and the girl whom she had slandered, he didn't immediately understand the complexity of the situation and the measure of responsibility to those whom he was obliged to protect...

Emilia

Soviet Lithuania in 1972. A young theatre actress is trying to make a difference and tell the forbidden story of repression in a play.

Solaris

A psychologist is sent to a space station orbiting a planet called Solaris to investigate the death of a doctor and the mental problems of cosmonauts on the station. He soon discovers that the water on the planet is a type of brain which brings out repressed memories and obsessions.

The Lives of Others

In 1984 East Berlin, dedicated Stasi officer Gerd Wiesler begins spying on a famous playwright and his actress-lover Christa-Maria. Wiesler becomes unexpectedly sympathetic to the couple, and faces conflicting loyalties when his superior takes a liking to Christa-Maria.

Citizen X

Based on the true story of a Russian serial killer who, over many years, claimed victim to over 50 people. His victims were mostly under the age of 17. In what was then a communists state, the police investigations were hampered by bureaucracy, incompetence and those in power. The story is told from the viewpoint of the detective in charge of the case.

Final Assignment

An intrepid television journalist sent to cover the Canadian prime minister's visit to the Soviet Union has trouble sticking to her assignment when she unearths a horrific experimental drug trial involving children. Determined to prepare a video that will show the world exactly what's been going on, she dodges the long arm of the KGB and falls into bed with a Communist bureaucrat.

The Russia House

Barley Scott Blair, a Lisbon-based editor of Russian literature who unexpectedly begins working for British intelligence, is commissioned to investigate the purposes of Dante, a dissident scientist trapped in the decaying Soviet Union that is crumbling under the new open-minded policies.

K-19: The Widowmaker

When Russia's first nuclear submarine malfunctions on its maiden voyage, the crew must race to save the ship and prevent a nuclear disaster.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Successful surgeon Tomas leaves Prague for an operation, meets a young photographer named Tereza, and brings her back with him. Tereza is surprised to learn that Tomas is already having an affair with the bohemian Sabina, but when the Soviet invasion occurs, all three flee to Switzerland. Sabina begins an affair, Tom continues womanizing, and Tereza, disgusted, returns to Czechoslovakia. Realizing his mistake, Tomas decides to chase after her.

Chernobyl: The Last Battle of the USSR

Three decades after the nuclear explosion, almost everything has been said about this ecological and sanitary disaster that made Pripiat a part of History. How did the greatest industrial disaster change the course of History, disrupt global geopolitics and, directly or indirectly, redistribute the balances and power relations of the twentieth century? The world will never be the same again. By retracing the incredible battle waged by the Soviet Union against radiation, this film proposes to retrace and enlighten an extraordinary story, while exploring the historical stakes in the medium and long-term…

The Cat Who Walked by Herself

Two parents put their child in his crib for the night and leave the room. The child starts crying, and the Cat comes into the room to keep him company. The child grabs her tail, and the Cat angrily reminds him that they agreed a thousand years ago that he would not do that. Upon seeing that the child doesn't remember, the Cat sighs and decides to tell him the story from the beginning. The story starts when the planet was young and life on Earth is starting with dinosaurs.

The Charcoal Maker

Film describes the miserable existence of a charcoal-burner who is barely able to feed his family. His search for work in town ends in failure and he is forced to return to his village.

The Snow Queen

The film tells a story about the extraordinary journey of the modest little girl Gerda. She is looking for her friend Kai, who was kidnapped and taken to her kingdom by the powerful evil Snow Queen. In search of her beloved friend, Gerda ends up in the castle to the cunning, insidious and at the same time funny king, meets forest robbers. On the way, the girl will have many obstacles before the decisive battle with the Snow Queen. But Gerda’s faithful heart will overcome all adversity...

Another Life

Psychological drama about a university dean who leads a double life.

Only Three Nights

The love story in the remote village. Lyuba has a child, Nikolai has a wife. Nikolay, having become a projectionist, now, once a week, brings cinema to the village of Babino, where Lyuba lives. Once they loved each other, but Nikolai, unexpectedly for everyone, married another and since then tried not to be in this village. And now feelings have surged again, and both are unable to resist this love.

By Dawn's Early Light

A nuclear warhead launched by Soviet insurgents protesting the waning Cold War destroys the Ukrainian city of Donetsk. The destruction sets off a race between American and Soviet politicians to prevent a nuclear holocaust. While the U.S. president feverishly works to keep the military and political machine from going into overdrive, various subordinates panic. When the president is believed to be killed in a helicopter crash, zealous advisers take over.

Afonya

The 1975 film by Georgi Daneliya "Afonya" was an unexpected commercial hit in USSR. The main character "Afonya" Borshev is a plumber, who spends his life partying with "buddies", many of whom he doesn't even remember after nights of heavy drinking. His wife leaves him, his boss places him on probation, his whole life is falling apart, but he doesn't realize it. Afonya met Katya at a dance club, yet didn't pay her much attention. But she is the one, who can save him... In this movie Daneliya achieves a perfect balance of satire and drama. Quotes from the movie gained a cult status in USSR.