A weekend-long celebration of the groundbreaking documentary with special guest, film director Oleg Dorman
Lilianna Lungina in a still from Podstrochnik (2009)
Pushkin House and Stage Russia HD are proud to present a marathon screening of Podstrochnik, the 15-part award-winning documentary series directed by Oleg Dorman, with an English translation and subtitles by noted translator, Anna Zakhayeva. This is a unique opportunity to view one of the biggest Russian TV phenomena of the 21st century, a deep exploration of history and life told through translator Lilianna Lungina’s recollections and conclusions.
A child of the 1920s, Lungina was a Russian Jew born to privilege, spending her childhood in Germany, France, and Palestine. But after her parents moved to the USSR when she was thirteen, Lungina became witness to many of the era’s greatest upheavals. Exiled during World War II, dragged to KGB headquarters to report on her cosmopolitan friends, and subjected to her new country’s ruthless, systematic anti-Semitism, Lungina nonetheless carved out a remarkable career as a translator who introduced hundreds of thousands of Soviet readers to Knut Hamsun, August Strindberg, and, most famously, Astrid Lindgren. In the process, she found herself at the very center of Soviet cultural life, meeting and befriending Pasternak, Brodsky, Solzhenitsyn, and many other major figures of the era’s literature.
Oleg Dorman's brilliant film, which was years in the making and became a sensation when finally released over 4 nights on Russian television in 2009, fully captures her extraordinary life ― at once heartfelt and unsentimental ― is an unparalleled tribute to a lost world.
The series will be shown over two days, with introductions and Q&As from the director Oleg Dorman and translator Anna Zakharyeva.
Director: Oleg Dorman
Cast: Lilianna Lungina
Producers: Felix Dektor, Oleg Dorman, Irina Martynova
Director of Photography: Vadim Yusov
Second Camera: Rodion Varshavsky
English Translation: Anna Zakharyeva
In Russian, with English subtitles
Schedule:
Saturday March 7, 2020
2:00 PM to 3:45 PM Podstrochnik Episodes 1-4
3:45 PM to 4:00 PM Break
4:00 PM to 5:45 PM Podstrochnik Episodes 5-8
5:45 PM to 6:30 PM Post-screening discussion w/ film director Oleg Dorman and translator Anna Zakharyeva
Sunday March 8, 2020
12:00 PM to 12:15 PM Introduction by Oleg Dorman
12:15 PM to 2:00 PM Podstrochnik Episodes 9-12
2:00 PM to 3:00 PM Lunch break
3:00 PM to 4:45 PM Podstrochnik Episodes 13-15
4:45 PM to 5:30 PM Post-screening discussion with film director Oleg Dorman and translator Anna Zakharyeva
Oleg Dorman is a film director, translator and author of countless memorable films, books and theatre productions. As a film director, Mr Dorman's most renowned works are the documentaries The Note and Podstrochnik. The 15 episode, multi-award winning Podstrochnik, when finally released after nearly 10 years of rejections and dead-ends, became an instant sensation over 4 nights on Russian television in 2009. A book version of the film was published in 2010 and has since been translated into 10 languages. As a translator, Mr Dorman has single-handedly brought Woody Allen’s canon of books, short stories and plays to Russian readers and theatre audiences. His translation of Mr. Allen’s Central Park West is currently being presented on stage at the Moscow Art Theatre. Works in progress include an extensive book on the films of Polish cinema director Krzysztof Kieślowski, as well as mentoring prospective screenwriters and film directors at major Moscow and St. Petersburg Film Schools.
Anna Zakharyeva is a translator of both English to Russian and Russian to English novels, television programming, theatrical productions and documentaries. She has introduced a number of books, including André Aciman’s bestseller “Call Me By Your Name”, to Russian readers, and has also translated into English a variety of theatrical productions presented in cinemas across the US, UK and Canada, including Timofey Kulyabin’s staging of Maxim Gorky’s “Children of the Sun”, Grigory Kanovich’s Vakhtangov Theatre production of “Smile Upon Us, Lord” and Rimas Tuminas’ award-winning presentation of Chekhov's “Uncle Vanya”. In 2019, Anna took on the daunting task of translating into English Oleg Dorman’s renowned 15 episode, 6 hour documentary “Podstrochnik”, making it available for the first time to Western audiences. Anna is currently working on an English translation of Andrey Moguchiy’s Bolshoi Drama Theatre production of Leonid Andreev's "Governor”, which will premiere in cinemas worldwide in September 2020. Concurrently, she is devoting herself to translating lesser-known modern Russian prose into English and bringing it to the British publishing market.
TICKETS
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As a UK tax payer, when you choose to buy a ticket with a GiftAid donation, your 10% voluntary donation allows us to claim an extra 25p in every pound. This makes a huge difference. Thank you!
As a UK tax payer, when you choose to buy a ticket with a GiftAid donation, your 10% voluntary donation allows us to claim an extra 25p in every pound. This makes a huge difference. Thank you!