Let me know if anything happens: the main festival of auteur cinema opened by Lermontov

The beacon of the Mayak Contemporary Film Festival lit up for the third time on the Black Sea coast in Gelendzhik. The program includes ten feature films, eight short films and plus special screenings. The opening film was "Lermontov" directed by Bakur Bakuradze with stand-up comedian Ilya Ozolin in the title role. The details are in the Izvestia report.

Debuts and premieres

There are 10 premiere films in the Mayak contest, five of which are debuts. During the six days of the festival, guests and the jury will see the story of the daughters of a bankrupt father in Nina Volova's film "Fireworks in the Afternoon", films about the drama of a young married couple "The Good Life" by Tatiana Rakhmanova, films "Yura was Here" by Sergei Malkin about musicians who are forced to take care of a relative, "Over Eternal Rest" by Svetlana Proskurina, "My Son" by Vyacheslav Klevtsov, as well as "Fiery Boy" by Nadezhda Mikhalkova about the tragedy of a mother and son.

In addition, Mayak selected Sofia Raisman's film "Pictures of Friendly Relations", the drama "Ghostlands" by Yakut director Dmitry Davydov, Apollinaria Degtyareva's debut in the form of a horror about domestic violence "Presence" and Konstantin Bronzit's animated film "On Release."

According to the festival's program director, Stas Tyrkin, Mayak is showing the best current films shot in Russia this year for the third time. And I had to choose from 652 applications for a full meter and more than 590 for a short one.

— The Lighthouse was created for surprise. And every year we are surprised by something: the talent of each particular film, its authors, and generally the presence of such a level of cinema. This is a symbol of great hope, which I personally feel," Stas Tyrkin told Izvestia.

The films of the competition program are judged by a jury led by director and producer Bakur Bakuradze. The cast includes cinematographer, Golden Eagle laureate Eduard Gimpel, actress, screenwriter, director and winner of the Best Actress award at the second Mayak, Evgenia Gromova, director Natalia Kudryashova, whose film Gerda not only won the Young Jury Prize at the 74th International Festival in Locarno, but also and he gave Anastasia Krasovskaya a start in the profession, and producer Sergey Melkumov, a multiple winner of Niki, Golden Eagle and TEFI.

The short meter will be evaluated by producer Sergey Kornikhin, director and screenwriter Anna Kuznetsova, whose debut "Vacation" won the Grand Prix of the first "Lighthouse", and cinematographer Ekaterina Smolina, who was awarded by the festival in 2024 for the best cinematography in Renata Djalo's film "On This Earth".

The Russian premiere of Richard Linklater's film "New Wave", which participated in this year's Cannes Film Festival and will be released in Russia soon, will take place at the Mayak. Guests will also be able to watch Mikhail Kalatozov's Soviet classic "The Cranes Are Flying" on the big screen.

The Silent Lermontov

The festival opened with the film "Lermontov" by Bakur Bakuradze, chairman of the jury, which is called one of the most anticipated films of the year. Last year, Bakuradze's work "Snow in my Yard" was shown at the Lighthouse, which many critics called the best Russian painting of 2024.

— Two years ago, driving past Pyatigorsk, I began to reread everything related to Lermontov's death. I read things I didn't know before, immersed myself in his life. And he wouldn't let me go until I made the movie. I had young guys who were also very passionate about the project for some reason. Either they wanted to work with me, or they liked Lermontov so much. And he, Mikhail Yurievich, turned out to be a good guy," Bakur Bakuradze shared.

For less than two hours, viewers see the last day of the great Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov, whose wit caused deep offense to yesterday's friend and current enemy Nikolai Martynov. In the stunning nature of Pyatigorsk, a duel takes place, the tragic outcome of which friends tried in vain to prevent.

Bakuradze made a silent, unhurried and fascinating movie. The director invites the viewer to a long and pristine walk through forests and plains, tea houses and modest noble interiors. This journey calls for grounding. Bakuradze enjoys his time and expertly builds up tension without resorting to music or unnecessary action.

Of particular interest is the main figure performed by stand-up comedian Ilya Ozolin. The abundance of close—ups and the complete absence of cinematic "crutches" poses a difficult acting task for him - to play through the eyes of Lermontov's wounded soul full of contradictions and extraordinary talent. The film will be officially released on October 16.

Izvestia will be following the events of the festival.