Mongrel Media Presents LEVIATHAN Directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev Official Selection Cannes Film Festival 2014 Toronto International Film Festival 2014 Winner, Best Screenplay, Cannes Film Festival 2014 (141 min., Russia, 2013) Language: Russian Distribution Publicity Bonne Smith Star PR 1028 Queen Street West Tel: 416-488-4436 Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M6J 1H6 Fax: 416-488-8438 Tel: 416-516-9775 Fax: 416-516-0651 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] www.mongrelmedia.com High res stills may be downloaded from http://www.mongrelmedia.com/leviathan SYNOPSIS The latest drama from Andrey Zvyagintsev, the acclaimed director of The Return (Venice Film Festival Golden Lion winner and Golden Globe nominee). Kolia (Alexeï Serebriakov) lives in a small fishing town near the stunning Barents Sea in Northern Russia. He owns an auto-repair shop that stands right next to the house where he lives with his young wife Lilya (Elena Liadova) and his son Roma (Sergueï Pokhodaev) from a previous marriage. The town’s corrupt mayor Vadim Shelevyat (Roman Madianov) is determined to take away his business, his house, as well as his land. First the Mayor tries buying off Kolia, but Kolia unflinchingly fights as hard as he can so as not to lose everything he owns including the beauty that has surrounded him from the day he was born. Facing resistance, the mayor starts being more aggressive….. 2 CREDITS CAST Alexey Serebryakov Kolia Elena Lyadova Lilya Vladimir Vdovitchenkov Dmitri Roman Madyanov Vadim Shelevyat Anna Ukolova Angela Alexey Rozin Pacha Sergey Pokhodaev Roma FILMMAKERS Directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev Screenplay Oleg Negin, Andrey Zvyagintsev Producers Alexander Rodnyansky, Sergey Melkumov Co-Producer Marianna Sardarova Executive Producer Ekaterina Marakulina Production Manager Pavel Gorin Casting Elina Ternyaeva Editing Anna Mass Make up Galiya Ponomareva Costumes Anna Bartuli Sound Andrey Dergachev Production Design Andrey Ponkratov Cinematography Mikhail Krichman Music Philip Glass A Non-Stop Production film, with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation of the Cinema Fund and RuArts foundation 3 Director’s Note When a man feels the tight grip of anxiety in the face of need and uncertainty, when he gets overwhelmed with hazy images of the future, scared for his loved ones, and fearful of death on the prowl, what can he do except give up his freedom and free will, and hand these treasures over willingly to a trustworthy person in exchange for deceptive guarantees of security, social protection, or even of an illusory community? Thomas Hobbes’ outlook on the state is that of a philosopher on man’s deal with the devil: he sees it as a monster created by man to prevent “the war of all against all”, and by the understandable will to achieve security in exchange for freedom, man’s sole true possession. Just like we are all, from birth, marked by the original sin, we are all born in a “state”. The spiritual power of the state over man knows no limit. The arduous alliance between man and the state has been a theme of life in Russia for quite a long time. But if my film is rooted in the Russian land, it is only because I feel no kinship, no genetic link with anything else. Yet I am deeply convinced that, whatever society each and every one of us lives in, from the most developed to the most archaic, we will all be faced one day with the following alternative: either live as a slave or live as a free man. And if we naively think that there must be a kind of state power that can free us from that choice, we are seriously mistaken. In the life of every man, there comes a time when one is faced with the system, with the “world”, and must stand up for his sense of justice, his sense of God on Earth. It is still possible today to ask these questions to the audience and to find a tragic hero in our land, a “son of God”, a character who has been tragic from time immemorial, and this is precisely the reason why my homeland isn’t lost yet to me, or to those who have made this film. - Andrey Zvyagintsev 4 About the Director Andrei Zvyagintsev was born in 1964 in Novosibirsk, Siberia In 1990, Zvyagintsev graduated from the acting program of the Russian University of Theater Arts (GITIS), where he studied under the tutelage of Evgeny Lazarev. He went on to take part in independent theater productions and had a few bit parts in TV shows and movies. In 2000, he made his debut as a Director with three episodes for REN TV’s The Black Room. In 2003, Zvyagintsev shot his first feature film, The Return, which became the cinema sensation of the year. A debut not only for the Director but for the majority of the crew as well. The Return was nominated for a Golden Globe after winning the Golden Lion and the Lion of the Future for Best Director’s Debut at the 60th Venice Film Festival in 2003, with the commendation: “a sublime film about love, loss and coming of age.” His second film, The Banishment, was presented at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, where the lead, Konstantin Lavronenko, became the first Russian actor ever to receive the Festival’s Award, the Palme d’Or for Best Actor. The international premiere of Zvyagintsev’s third film, Elena, took place in 2011 at the 64th Cannes Film Festival, where it was awarded the Special Jury Prize in Un Certain Regard. The film also won the 2010 Sundance / NHK International Filmmakers Award. His latest film, Leviathan, was selected in the Official Competition of the 67th Cannes Film Festival and won the Palme d’Or for Best Screenplay. Filmography: 2000 Busido, Obscure, The Choice (short novellas in The Black Room cycle) 2003 The Return 2007 The Banishment 2008 Apocrypha (a short film segment in the New York, I Love You anthology) 2011 Elena 2014 Leviathan 5 CAST BIOS ALEKSEY SEREBRAYAKOV (Kolia): Russian film and theater actor Aleksey Serebryakov has been acting in films since childhood. He graduated from the Russian University of Theater Arts (1986, under the tutelage of Oleg Tabakov). Selected Filmography 2004 THE PENAL BATTALION 2005 9TH COMPANY 2007 CARGO 200 2007 THE APOCALYPSE CODE 2008 THE INHABITED ISLAND 2009 THE INHABITED ISLAND: REBELLION 2011 PIRAMMMIDA 2011 ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WAS A WOMAN 2011 THE WHITE GUARD 2014 LEVIATHAN ELENA LYADOVA (Lilya): After graduating from the M.S. Schepkin Higher Theater School in 2002, Elena Lyadova joined the Moscow Young Generation Theater. In 2013, she won the two main Russian film awards, the Golden Eagle and the Nika, in the Best Supporting Actress category, for her role in Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Elena. Two years later, she was again awarded the Golden Eagle and the Nika, this time as Best Actress for her role in Alexander Veledinsky’s The Geographer Drank His Globe Away. Selected Filmography 2005 DREAMING OF SPACE 2009 TAMBOURINE, DRUM 2011 ELENA 2013 THE GEOGRAPHER DRANK HIS GLOBE AWAY 2014 LEVIATHAN 6 VLADIMIR VDOVICHENKOV (Dmitri): Russian film and theater actor Vladimir Vdovichenkov graduated from the Kronstadt Nautical School and served for four years in the Northern and Baltic Fleets. In 1997, he enrolled in the Russian State University of Cinematography to study acting under Georgi Taratorkin. He graduated in 2001. When Vdovichenkov was in his fourth year, director Aleksey Sidorov cast him in one of the main roles in the TV series Law of the Lawless. The role of Phil made Vladimir famous. Since 2002, he has been a member of the Vakhtangov State Academic Theater Company. Selected Filmography 2002 LAW OF THE LAWLESS 2003 BUMER 2006 BUMER 2: HEAVEN ON EARTH 2007 PARAGRAPH 78 2007 PARAGRAPH 78, PUNKT 2 2009 TARAS BULBA 2014 LEVIATHAN ROMAN MADYANOV (Vadim Shelevyat): Russian film and theater actor, a three times winner of the Nika Award for Best Supporting Actor. In 1973, he starred in the title role of Georgiy Daneliya’s film The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (based on the novel by Mark Twain). He graduated from the Russian University of Theater Arts (GITIS), playing a part in a thesis production by director Kama Ginkas. He began acting at the Mayakovsky Theater in Moscow while still a student. Selected Filmography 2003 LETHAL FORCE 2004 THE PENAL BATTALION 2004 CHILDREN OF THE ARBAT 2007 THE IRONY OF FATE 2 2007 12 2011 ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WAS A WOMAN 7 2013 LEGEND NO. 17 2014 LEVIATHAN 8 CREW BIOS Michael Krichman (Director of Photography): Russian cinematographer Mikhail Krichman graduated from the Moscow State University of Printing Arts in 1995. He is a recipient of the Best Cinematography Award at the Venice Film Festival (for Silent Souls), as well the Golden Eagle and Nika Awards for Best Cinematography (for Elena). Selected Filmography 2003 SKY. PLANE. GIRL 2003 THE RETURN 2006 THE BANISHMENT 2010 SILENT SOULS 2011 ELENA 2013 WINTER JOURNEY 2014 LEVIATHAN Alexander Rodnyansky (Producer) has produced more than 30 television series and 40 feature films, in both the auteur and commercial genres. The “art-house” films produced by Alexander Rodnyansky include such Oscar nominees as Régis Wargnier’s Est - Ouest, Nana Dzhordzhadze’s A Chef in Love; official selections of the Berlin International Film Festival such as The Sun by Alexander Sokurov, Innocent Saturday by Alexander Mindadze and Jayne Mansfield's Car by Billy Bob Thornton; an opening film of the Venice Film Festival, ¡Vivan las Antipodas!, by Victor Kossakovsky; and Pavel Chukhray’s A Driver for Vera, winner of numerous film festivals.