- Russia
THE ISLAND
Synopsis
A small Orthodox monastery on the coast of the White Sea in northern Russia, 1976. Father Anatoli (Pyotr Mamonov) works there in the boiler room; his strange behaviour bewilders his fellow monks, while the people who come to the island believe he can heal, cast out demons and foretell the future. He himself has carried a secret for thirty years: as a sailor in the Second World War he was forced by German soldiers to shoot his captain, after which they blew up the ship. He survived, was washed ashore and found by monks. The Russian director Pavel Lungin shot “The Island” in 2006 in Kem, in Karelia.
Lungin made casting Mamonov a condition of the film: the lead actor was not a professional but a painter and musician from one of the best-known rock bands of the late Soviet era, who had withdrawn from public life. The film was the closing film of the Venice Film Festival in 2006 and won the Nika Award and the Golden Eagle for best film of the year in Russia. “The Island” was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2006.
Festival
Shown at the 2006 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.
