Betrayal

The film tells about the time in which the characters of the movie "Leto" lived. Performer of the role of "Skeptic" Alexandr Kuznetsov interviews Natalya Naumenko, Artemy Troitsky, Igor Petrovsky, Seva Novgorodtsev and Andrey Tropillo about Russian rock, the 80s, Soviet youth, the Leningrad way of life and the spirit of that time. The conversations take place in the real locations of the movie "Leto", where the characters come to tell how everything was in reality, and plunge into nostalgia and praise or, on the contrary, criticize "artistic fiction".

Leningrad, one summer in the early eighties. Smuggling LPs by Lou Reed and David Bowie, the underground rock scene is boiling ahead of the Perestroika. Mike and his beautiful wife Natasha meet with young Viktor Tsoi. Together with friends, they will change the destiny of rock’n’roll in the Soviet Union.

In the aftermath of the Second World War, Josef Mengele, the Nazi doctor at Auschwitz, escapes to South America to rebuild his life in hiding. Through the eyes of his son who finds him again, Mengele is confronted with a past he can no longer ignore. From Buenos Aires to Paraguay via Brazil, the man who became known as “The Angel of Death” will organize his methodical disappearance to avoid any form of trial.

A high school student becomes convinced that the world is lost to evil and begins to challenge the morals and beliefs of the adults surrounding him.

Henry, a newly resurrected cyborg who must save his wife/creator from the clutches of a psychotic tyrant with telekinetic powers, AKAN, and his army of mercenaries. Fighting alongside Henry is Jimmy, who is Henry's only hope to make it through the day. Hardcore Henry takes place over the course of one day, in Moscow, Russia.

A revolutionary militant, a thug, an underground writer, a butler to a millionaire in Manhattan. But also a switchblade-waving poet, a lover of beautiful women, a warmonger, a political agitator, and a novelist who wrote of his greatness. Eduard Limonov’s life story is a journey through Russia, America, and Europe during the second half of the 20th century.

With the city in the throes of a flu epidemic, the Petrov family struggles through yet another day in a country where the past is never past, the present is a booze-fueled, icy fever dream of violence and tenderness, and where – beneath layers of the ordinary – things turn out to be extraordinary.

Antonina Milyukova is a beautiful and bright young woman, born in the aristocracy of 19th century Russia. She could have anything she'd want, and yet her only obsession is to marry Pyotr Tchaikovsky, with whom she falls in love from the very moment she hears his music. The composer finally accepts this union, but after blaming her for his misfortunes and breakdowns, his attempts to get rid of his wife are brutal. Consumed by her feelings for him, Antonina decides to endure and do whatever it takes to stay with him. Humiliated, disgraced and discarded, she is slowly driven to madness.

Before leaving Russia and moving to Western Europe, famous opera singer Lyuba travels to her hometown to say goodbye and show her teenage son around. But Andrey, Lyuba’s son, disappears and she must stay in the place she hates the most to search for him. A piercing exploration of identity and transformation, against the backdrop of a Russian hinterland, surrounded by Orthodox churches and snow.

A talk show

In a love triangle there are always three participants: the torturer, the saviour and the victim, who change roles depending on the situation. There is no room to condemn anyone, there is no right and no guilt. A betrayal can happen with everyone. Margo admits to her husband George that she betrayed him with her student Anton. Her confession changes the life of three people. At first it seems that it is a usual story, but gradually it emerges that everything that happens to Margo has a deeper meaning. She begins to understand God, family, and love. She starts to realize how these values correspond with the eastern world, where she has grown up, and with the western world where she now lives.

The question is, whether Katya Golubeva, an icon of the European underground cinema, determined her fate with the parts she played, or the fate of her characters affected her own fate?

The film shows how the famous Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov reflects the events taking place in Russia in his works. We will see his whole career - from the first successes in the theater to feature films. We will see that the rise and fall of the director’s star is also a reflection of Russian cultural policy: from the short flowering of artistic freedom under Medvedev to a conservative culture, backed by authoritarian measures.

Nobleman Boris Godunov accumulates power in Russia, first as regent, then as tsar. But the ghosts of the past catch up with him and he ends up losing not only his power but his sanity. Russia sinks ever deeper into a mire of corruption, intrigue and coups. In his grand choral opera, Modest Mussorgsky deals with a theme that offers poignant parallels to today’s world: the extremes to which one man’s thirst for power can lead. The director Kirill Serebrennikov incorporates his own experiences in Russia to present his take on an opera about political turmoil and its consequences. Serebrennikov’s production focuses on the effect on the people of high-stakes political scheming. Conductor Vasily Petrenko makes his Amsterdam debut leading the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. A top-flight cast is led bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny, celebrated for his ability to get into the skin of his characters both vocally and dramatically, singing the title role for the first time.

“Nureyev” is the award-winning production by Yuri Possokhov and Kirill Serebrennikov, which was controversial even at its 2017 premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre yet went on to become a huge hit with audiences. In 2023, it was removed from the repertoire for political reasons. The Staatsballett Berlin is presenting the production for the first time outside of Russia.