Just space – Newspaper Kommersant No. 66 (7511) dated 04/17/2023

The past secular week absorbed both Cosmonautics Day and Easter, that is, the mood was generally upbeat. And although in the second case we are talking about a religious holiday, it is clear that a rare event falls short of worship in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior according to the light going from bottom to top and in the opposite direction (details in reporting by Andrey Kolesnikov).

Each of these holidays was marked, including cinematically. Directly on Sunday, the film directed by Eduard Boyakov “Russian Cross” was released on the screens. Former artistic director of the Moscow Art Theater. Gorky made a film in verse (four-foot trochee) about the restoration of the temple by the forces of the hero Mikhail Porechenkov and his fellow villagers. This film, it seems, did not have a secular premiere, and why, if the now living elder, Schema-Archimandrite Elijah (Nozdrin), blessed Mr. Boyakov to create the picture. And the celebration of Cosmonautics Day was marked by closed screenings of the extraterrestrial film “Challenge” directed by Klim Shipenko. Here, on the contrary, one premiere was not enough (and the sky was not enough, and the earth). Therefore, on Wednesday, the film was watched first in the Kremlin (details in Andrey Kolesnikov’s report), and then immediately also at the Oktyabr cinema. Here the film was shown not only in the main hall, but in all the other halls, so that a crowd of people more or less well-known quickly gathered at the entrance. Indeed, the inspection was stricter than usual, although in the end, Dmitry Peskov with his daughter Elizabeth and Olga Lyubimova with her daughter Varvara were seen among the specially guarded people in the cinema. Mikhail Kusnirovich came with his youngest son Mark. Ivan Urgant was without children or a wife, but even solo made a strong impression on all the impressionable. However, almost all the other presenters of Channel One were also here. But the co-author of the idea of ​​the film, the ex-head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin was not there. Later, the second co-author of the film idea, Konstantin Ernst, specified that Mr. Rogozin was on the line of contact. But this circumstance obviously did not spoil the festive mood of the creative team and the audience.

Instead of the usual introductory speech, when all those involved come on stage, and the main people begin to thank the others, Mr. Ernst, right from his place in the tenth row, addressed the guests in the spirit that he knows the local customs: everyone will be seated for a very long time. Indeed, it is rare for a premiere to be delayed by less than half of the film’s running time from the time specified in the invitation. “Weekday! The film is running two forty! We can’t sit here until midnight!” he called very sternly, but only turning off the light helped. On the screen and beyond: a projection of the cosmos appeared on the walls and ceiling, and men in space suits began to descend from the ceiling on lounges. Many at that moment remembered the ceremonies of the Olympics in Sochi. The astronauts were soon lifted back, and the film began.

Upon its completion, even director Alexei German Jr. admitted that he cried several times. Spectators who were skeptical before the show turned out to be reconfigured. The appearance on the stage of the film crew, but it still could not happen, the hall met with applause. Herr Ernst saw this and was extremely pleased. He ended his speech by congratulating his wife Sofya on her birthday: “Sonya, I love you!”. With this exact phrase, he ended his performance at the GQ “Person of the Year – 2014” award. Then he received the main prize just for the Olympic ceremonies. Definitely, the creators of “The Challenge” felt that this time they also did something important. And we went to celebrate in GUM.

Another premiere took place between the cosmic and the divine. At the Khudozhestvenny cinema, the online retailer Lamoda showed the first episodes of its own documentary series Beautiful, dedicated to the Russian fashion industry and how it changed from the 2000s to the 2000s. Here everything happened according to the standard scenario – those involved in the project went up on stage before the start of the show. Many of them, including Ksenia Sobchak or Anton Sevidov, said words of gratitude to the author of the script, Roman Super. Mr. Super, like many of those who openly condemn the actions of the Russian authorities, watched the report about the premiere from abroad in personal messages. And if in theatrical programs the director imerek became simply the Director, then here no one hid his eyes and did not try to insert the name of Super into some elegant word game. And so, for some reason, it turns out that that very secular life, in a little more than a year, paradoxically, turned out to be able to accommodate not the Fronde, but, in any case, the very position, in the absence of which its characters were accused for decades by those who just believed that they are more correct than the rest for the country.

Evgenia Milova, columnist for Kommersant