PETROV'S FLU (2021)
Drama, Fantasy | Language: Russian | Subtitles: English | Status: Completed
Based on Alexei Salnikov’s novel, 'Petrovs in Flu and Around It', the film is the story of how even the most mundane situations carry in them the potential to become something extraordinary; how a simple journey on a trolleybus could be the first act of a mystery.
'Petrov's Flu' was released in UK cinemas on 11 February 2022 with the support of the BFI, awarding funds from the National Lottery.
SYNOPSIS
The Petrovs are an average family living in the peaceful city of Yekaterinburg in post-Soviet Russia. They follow their daily regimens with quiet consistency, but beneath this layer of the ordinary, things turn out to be quite extraordinary.
Petrov lives his life in a parallel comic universe, breaking out of the mundane to do everything from abducting children as a humanoid alien, to lining up Russian aristocrats against a wall and shooting them down. Petrov has been dealing with the flu, but goes about his regular life, often getting drunk and spending the night out. His wife, Petrova, is a librarian by day and a superhero vigilante with a maniacal streak by night; she kills abusive men.
CAST & CREW
Stars - Yuriy Borisov, Yuri Kolokolnikov, Yuliya Peresild
Director - Kirill Serebrennikov
Screenplay - Kirill Serebrennikov, Alexey Salnikov (novel)
Producers - Pavel Burya, Ilya Dzhincharadze, Murad Osmann, Max Pavlov, Igor Pronin, Olivier Père, Andreas Roald, Ilya Stewart, Dan Wechsler, Yulia Zayceva, Jamal Zeinal Zade
PRESS QUOTES
"A skillfully executed and mesmeric work." HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
"It's signature Serebrennikov: ambitious, eccentrically amusing, visually flamboyant." SCREEN DAILY
"Leaves you with a powerful feeling of a society that's sick from something far worse than a passing virus." TIME OUT
"An intensely expressive work which is also deeply embedded in a Russian context." LITTLE WHITE LIES
"Alternately exhilarating and exhausting film... A formidable piece of filmmaking." THE WRAP
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Born in Rostov-on-Don in Russia in 1969, Kirill Serebrennikov turned to theatre in 1992 after studying science at university. Winner of several awards for his work in television, he has also directed feature films such as Leto (2018), The Disciple (2016), The Student (2016). Playing the Victim (2006) won him the Grand Prize at the 1st Rome Film Festival in 2006. His success was followed by Yury’s Day (2008), which won awards both at home and in the international arena.
Since 2012, he has been the artistic director of the Gogol Center in Moscow, and is described as one of Russia’s leading theatre directors. His daring, impertinent theatre shows a great freedom and spirit of resistance. Outside is his third creation for the Festival d’Avignon, after The Idiots and Dead Souls.
