In the cinema “Zhovten” Kyiv residents can congratulate the film director and watch his film “We are here. We are close.”
Roman Gurgenovich Balayan turns 82 on April 15, 2023.
On this day, the “October” cinema will host an author’s meeting with a Ukrainian film director, screenwriter and producer, who is considered a classic of Ukrainian cinema.
After watching the film “We are. We are close” viewers will be able to chat with Roman Balayan. The conversation will be moderated by film critic and film expert Serhii Trimbach.
“We are We are near” (2021) is a film by Roman Balayan after an almost 12-year creative break, as well as his first Ukrainian-language film.
The picture tells about the sudden meeting of a surgeon and a mysterious girl who turns their lives upside down and fills them with deep feelings. They become a meaning for each other and are ready to fight for their happiness against the whole world.
His seven-year-old nephew dies on the operating table of the surgeon Oleksii (Akhtem Seitablaev). The man in despair goes to the river, to their favorite place. There he meets Maria Anna (Kateryna Molchanova), offers to take him to the city. A strange girl follows him, they walk together in Kyiv.
“I came up with this story in 1990 on a pedestrian bridge in Paris. But then it was about a guardian angel, he said Roman Balayan. — When he offered the script to the producer, he said that Luc Besson had already shot Angel-A. I watched that movie, it’s different. I decided to make the heroine crazy.”
They performed the main roles in the film Akhtem Seitablaev and Kateryna Molchanova.
The film is completely black and white and was shot with a unique Alex camera, of which there are only a few in the world. The picture was shot in Kyiv in May 2019, mainly in Podil.
The author’s meeting for Roman Balayan’s birthday is a great opportunity for friends, fans of the director’s talent and moviegoers to get to know the famous director better, learn more about his creative output and express gratitude for his contribution to Ukrainian cinema! The audience will also have the opportunity to chat live with Roman Balayan in a question/answer format.
Roman Balayan – an outstanding Ukrainian director of Armenian origin, the creator of the famous films “Flight in Dreams and Awake”, “Biryuk” and “Birds of Paradise”, People’s Artist of Ukraine and a member of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine. In 2020, the artist received the “Golden Duke” award of the Odessa International Film Festival for his contribution to the art of cinema. Also, for his contribution to the development of Ukrainian cinema, Roman Balayan was awarded the “Golden Dzyga” in 2021.
When: April 15 at 2:45 p.m
Where: “Zhovten” cinema, str. Kostyantynivska, 26
Ticket prices: 130 hryvnias
Maria Kataeva
