The Swan Song of Fedor Ozerov
In this delightfully eccentric Orpheus adaptation set in Minsk’s underground scene, a musician searches for his magical sweater under the looming threat of nuclear war.
The news blasts the threat of a third world war and nuclear annihilation, and Fedor (Viachaslau Kmit) from Minsk is urged by his activist sister Nina (Violetta Rahachova) to join a protest. But Fedor isn’t interested. He should be forming a band and making new music, but the lucky charm sweater for songwriting has gone missing. And find it he must, no matter what.
Belarusian filmmaker Yuri Semashko, in his feature-length debut that premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, reimagines the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in the subcultural circles of contemporary Minsk, swarming with eccentrics. The antiheroic Fedor’s odyssey is a genre-blending, surreal yet laconic ode to alternative lifestyles and artistry, but ultimately also to the love of those close to us.
Shot in Warsaw, The Swan Song of Fedor Ozerov is also a powerful showcase of artists who have fled the current situation in their homeland: both Semashko and the Belarusian musicians and actors appearing in the film now live in Poland. In addition to funding from Lithuania and Germany, the film received support from the Belarusian Filmmakers’ Network, which promotes the independence and internationalisation of Belarusian cinema.
Tommi Kumén (translated by Kati Ilomäki)
Trailer
