Egor, a Siberian huntsman, is an exemplary family man and respected in his village. He and his wife Natalia are expecting their second child. Unexpectedly, Egor learns that he is terminally ill and that he has two months to live. Neither traditional medicine nor shamanic sorcery can help him fight the disease, and in the end Yegor decides to take a desperate step — he tries to completely change his personality in order to cheat the approaching death, as the legendary sparrow Zhamba, the hero of the ancient Siberian epic, did.
Script and production by Natasha Merkulova and Alexey Chupov
Director of photography Mart Taniel (Estonia)
Production designer Sergei Avstrievskikh
Costume Designer Anna Bartuli
Make-up artist Tatiana Kolomiitseva
Editing Vadim Krasnitsky
Producer Ekaterina Filippova (Pan-Atlantic Studio, Russia)
Co-producers: Guillaume De Seille (Arizona Productions, France)
Katrin Kissa (Homeless Bob Productions, Estonia)
Alexander Rodnyansky (Non-Stop Production, Russia)
Starring:
Evgeny Tsyganov — Egor
Natalia Kudryashov — Natalia
Yuri Kuznetsov — Grandfather
Pavel Maykov — Zakhar
Alexei Filimonov — Stupka
Elena Voronchikhina — shamaness
Maxim Vitorgan — Professor
Festivals and prizes:
2018
IFF Venice (Italy) — Horizons Section — Best Actress — Natalia Kudryashova
El Gouna IFF (Egypt) — Special Jury Prize
"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" Pingyao IFF (China) — Audience Award "Crouching Tiger"
Russian Film Festival in Honfleur (France) — Grand Prix, Best Actor — Evgeny Tsyganov, Best Actress — Natalia Kudryashova.
Independent IFF in Bordeaux (France) — Prix Erasmus+, Special Jury Mention
2019
Zinegoak LGBT IFF Bilbao (Spain) — Grand Prix, Best Supporting Actress — Natalia Kudryashova
IFF Luxembourg (Luxembourg) — Special Jury Mention
OUTshine LGBT IFF Miami (USA) — Special Mention by the Jury
Crossing Europe IFF (Linz, Austria) — Crossing Europe Award for Best Film
Al Este IFF Lima (Peru) — Best Feature Film
IFF Uruguay (Montevideo) — Best Director Award
Five Lakes IFF (Stenberg, Germany) — Perspective Young Cinema Award
Raindance IFF (London, UK) — Best Actor — Evgeny Tsyganov
Kinenova IFF (Skopje, North Macedonia) — Best Screenplay
Al Este IFF in Argentina (Buenos Aires) — Jury Prize
NIKA, Russian National Film Academy Award — Best Actor — Yevgeny Tsyganov, Best Supporting Actor — Yuri Kuznetsov.
"White Elephant" award of the Russian Guild of Film Critics — Best Actor — Evgeny Tsyganov.
Film Award "East-West. Golden Arch" - Best Actor — Evgeny Tsyganov, Best Actress — Natalia Kudryashova, Best Screenplay — Natasha Merkulova and Alexey Chupov
Lux Film Prize, 2019 — shortlisted for Best Feature Film
Kinonews Prize-2019 — Best Russian Actor — Evgeny Tsyganov
Ivan Mozzhukhin Men’s Film Festival (Penza, Russia) — Best Actor — Evgeny Tsyganov
Estonian Cultural Foundation Award — Cinematographer of the Year — Mart Taniel Award of the Russian Federation of Film Clubs — Best Film-2018
