New Documentaries about Russian Literature to Screen in New York

Several new Russian and international documentary films about Russian literature are screening at the 7th Russian Documentary Film Festival in New York, October 10-12, 2014:

RUSSIA’S OPEN BOOK: WRITING IN THE AGE OF PUTIN

Directors: Paul Mitchell and Sarah Wallis, Wilton Films
Intelligent Television, USA
55 minutes – 2013

Who are the new Russian Tolstoys and Dostoevskys? Hosted by author and actor Stephen Fry and featuring the work of Dmitry Bykov, Mariam Petrosyan, Zakhar Prilepin, Anna Starobinets, Vladimir Sorokin, and Ludmila Ulitskaya.

VASILY GROSSMAN: I UNDERSTOOD THAT I HAD DIED

Director: Elena Yakovich
RACORD-TV, Russia
56 minutes – 2014

A film about Vasily Grossman, author of “Life and Fate” and other novels and reportage – this documentary is dedicated to the 50th anniversary of Grossman’s death.

WRITER PI: THE ATTEMPT AT IDENTIFICATION

Directors: Boris Karadzhev and Georgy Ryabushev
Studio “CLIO,” Russia
75 min – 2013

A film about author Victor Pelevin – who rarely appears in public, but whose writing, work, and life have influenced readers throughout Russia and worldwide.

Some 20 documentaries about literature, arts, history, and culture will premiere at the festival. For more information, see: http://rusdocfilmfest.org/2014-about-en.