It still feels slightly strange and uncanny to publicly talk about work. Anyways.
Блажь, or Grace (2023), is a second feature we co-edited together with director Ilya Povolotsky (I also composed the music for it). We started the edit before the current war, invasion of Russia in Ukraine—what some refer to as started in 2022, others in 2014. Perhaps, one could argue, it began with Putin’s first election, or even earlier, but on another territory, on other scale, with other victims—those of the country I belong to.
We went to Cannes with this film, where it was selected for Directors’ Fortnight and nominated for the Caméra d’Or. Our acceptance was possible not only because Ilya, Nikolay (dop) and Maria (lead) created an exceptionally honest picture but also the project had no ties to any government-related funding (quite rare for russian films) — a stunt made possible, in part, because there wasn’t much money to begin with. For example, I happily edited and scored it as a gesture of love for cinema and the work of my colleagues. Just a small detail of encouragement for fellow filmmakers.
Grace is about two unnamed, tied to each other as father and daughter, travel in the isolation of a van, existing mostly in unspoken silence. They drive through Russia in its meaningless odyssey, capturing instant pictures of life, while evil keeps winning just beyond the frame.
It starts with, “Paradox: knowing the future makes it inevitable.” This line, at least for me, reflects the character’s privileged position of pessimism, despite not being a victim in the most concrete and vital sense. And, of course, it is a lie.
Maria Lukyanova
@maria_luuuk
Gela Chitava
Eldar Safikanov
Ksenia Kutepova
Producer, writer and director - Ilya Povolotsky
@blackchamber
DOP - Nikolay Zheludovich
@zootalks
Composer - Zurkas Tepla
@zurkastepla
Producer - Ivan Nechaev
Executive producers- Irakli Beridze, Yaroslav Kozlov
@mr.beridze @yar2d2 
