Great success of DOVLATOV by Alexey German Jr - Russian/Polish/Serbian coproduction at 68. Berlinale! International jury lead by Tom Tykwer awarded the film with Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution Elena Okopnaya (costumes and production design).
Dariusz Jablonski, Violetta Kaminska and Izabela Wojcik from Message Film are Polish producers of the film with cinematography by nominated to Oscar for IDA Lukasz Zal. Piotr Gasowski, Helena Sujecka and Hanna Sleszynska played parts in the film.
DOVLATOV is an epic, intellectual history cinema. Charts six days in the life of brilliant, ironic writer who saw far beyond the rigid limits of '70s Soviet Russia. Sergey Dovlatov and poet Joseph Brodsky, both of who would emigrate to New York, fought to preserve his own talent and decency while watching their artist friends getting crushed by the iron-willed state machinery.
The film from the first moment after premiere gathers enthusiastic reviews in international press and was sold to 23 territories. Will be distributed i.e. by Netflix in USA, Canada, UK, Ireland and Scandinavia. It will be also shown in France, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Brazil, China and Baltic countries.
Polish producers are expressing their happiness that comes from this great success: We are proud that DOVLATOV got recognition of international jury but also critics word widely and audience. Our joy is even bigger as DOVLATOV is a second film, which we made together with Alexey German Jr, Artem Vasiliev and Andrey Savelyev and which is awarded with Silver Bear. Previous one UNDER ELECTRIC CLOUDS got a Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution for Cinematography at Berlinale 2015.
The work on DOVLATOV of great cinematographer Lukasz Zal and fantastic actors Helena Sujecka, Piotr Gasowski and Hanna Sleszynska has undoubtedly great merit.
Polish premiere of the film will take place at New Horizons Festival 2018.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
"German's forceful presentation of an ever-timely topic could give the film a leg up in Berlin competition."
"Serbian actor Milan Maric impressively fills the boots of the Jewish-Armenian writer with his commanding, ironic presence.”
“The film’s merit is to make the viewer understand that despite all the nonsense and repression, there was something uniquely, irreplaceably creative about those years. Elena Okopnaya’s stylish sets with vertical interest create a sophisticated world out of time, echoed in Lukasz Zal’s bright, snow-themed lensing dominated by whites and cream colours."
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/dovlatov-review-1085823
SCREEN INTERNATIONAL
'This stylistically distinctive film, artistically soft-spoken as it is, nevertheless figures as a cri de coeur for our own era, in Russia and elsewhere: if art and the belief in art diminish, we all lose unimaginably."
"Dovlatov himself – played with a mixture of ruefulness, affability and brooding warmth by Serbian actor Maric, in his first international role."
https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/dovlatov-berlin-review/5126748.article
VARIETY
"Working for the first time with “Ida” cinematographer Lukasz Zal, the director once again delivers enthralling choreographed tracking shots that add a Fellini-esque overlay to straightforward depictions of reality, making the film a visual treat."
"His most emotionally approachable work to date."
http://variety.com/2018/film/reviews/dovlatov-review-berlinale-2018-1202703263/
SAGa film company and Metrafilms in association with Channel One Russia with participation of Lenfilm film studio, in co-production with Message Film (Poland) and Art & Popcorn (Serbia), co-financed by Ministry of Culture of Russian Federation, Russian Cinema Fund, Government of Saint Petersburg, Polish Film Institute, Film Center Serbia and Cultural support fund of the Council of Europe EURIMAGES.
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/253648106
Press materials: http://silversaltpr.com/2017/12/dovlatov-berlin/