Movies

SYNOPSIS

Dima Nikitin is a simple and honest guy, a foreman of a repair team at a provincial housing service. Nothing really makes him stand out among the rest. It’s only the unusual combination of honesty and integrity that makes others perceive him as somewhat weird. In the little town there is a notorious dorm, inhabited mainly by drunkards and outcasts. One night the pipes burst at the dorm. After arriving at the scene, Nikitin discovers that things are way more serious – the building will not stand through the night. People need to be evacuated immediately. Fighting the red tape, Nikitin sets off on a night Odyssey around the town authorities.

Yury Bykov

Born in 1981 in Russia, Yury Bykov graduated in 2005 from the Russian State University of Cinematography (VGIK) in Moscow, where he studied acting. In 2010, he directed his feature film debut, Live!, followed in 2013 by The Major, which premiered at the Critic’s Week in Cannes and received various awards including the Golden Goblet at the Shanghai International Film Festival. The Fool is his third feature film.


Filmography

2014 Durak / Fool, The /
2013 Mayor / Major, The
2010 Zhit! / Live!

Festivals
2014         Locarno, Vladivostok, Vancouver, Les Arcs

Awards
2014 Locarno - Leopard for Best Actor (Artem Bystrov), Ecumenical Prize, IFFS Jury Special Mention, 1st Junior Jury Prize; Les Arcs - Cristal Arrow Award, Best Cinematography, Young Jury Prize

Critique
An explosive combination of highly personal moral drama and a wider, scathing portrait of a country in which corruption and greed seem to be the only shared values left.
Boyd van Hoeij, Hollywood Reporter