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Doch rybaka

Tzarevna Scaling
Forum 2021
© Uldus Bakhtiozina
Fishmonger Polina is sleeping badly because she’s worried about her brother. A tea given to her by a strange old woman transforms her sleep into a fairy tale. In a sort of underworld, she takes part in a competition that aims to determine whether or not she has what it takes to become a Tzarevna, or tsar’s daughter. The Tzarevna is an archetypical figure in Russia’s folklore and world of fairy tales. And the film is itself a fairy tale, in which Polina has to pass various tests in order to return at the end as a different person.
Whether one reads the film as a modern self-discovery process, a journey into Russian cultural history or an attempt to plumb the meanings and reframings of cultural traditions in Russian history, Doch rybaka draws upon an abundance of mythological figures and symbols. Slavic headdresses, costumes, Soviet interiors: no one element is left to chance. As well-thought-out and knowledgeable these references are, they never stop the narrative from breathing. The trip through this visually opulent and extremely original film universe is fast-moving and enriching, no matter whether you take a direct path or a detour.
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by Uldus Bakhtiozina (Written and Directed by)
with Alina Korol, Viktoria Lisovskaya, Valentina Yasen, Aleksandra Kysotskaya, Albina Berens, Seraphima Soloviova, Xenia Popova-Pendereckaya, Uldus Bakhtiozina, Adelia Severinova, Maria Pavlova Russian Federation 2020 Russian 70' Colour

Part of the Berlinale Summer Special

With

  • Alina Korol
  • Viktoria Lisovskaya
  • Valentina Yasen
  • Aleksandra Kysotskaya
  • Albina Berens
  • Seraphima Soloviova
  • Xenia Popova-Pendereckaya
  • Uldus Bakhtiozina
  • Adelia Severinova
  • Maria Pavlova

Crew

Written and Directed by Uldus Bakhtiozina
Cinematography Michael Znakov
Editing Uldus Bakhtiozina
Music Zaur Parsiati
Sound Design Zaur Parsiati
Sound Andrey Kharitonov
Production Design Uldus Bakhtiozina
Costumes Uldus Bakhtiozina
Make-Up Tamara Yavorskaya
Casting Feodossy Chatriyen Bakhtiozin
Assistant Director Maria Pavlova
Production Manager Anastasiya Prasolova
Producer Uldus Bakhtiozina
Executive Producer Maria Pavlova

Produced by

Uldus Bakhtiozina

Photos

Berlinale Meets | Interview

Uldus Bakhtiozina

© Bret Hartman

Born in 1986 in Leningrad, Soviet Union, now Saint Petersburg, Russia. She studied political science and graphic design and works as a photographer, costumer designer and filmmaker. Doch rybaka is her first feature-length film.

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2021