Russian film “One Little Night Secret” was shown at the Rotterdam Film Festival

Natalia Meshchaninova filmed it according to her childhood secrets

In the Big Screen Competition of the 52nd Rotterdam Film Festival, where 16 films from Japan, Argentina, South Korea, Mexico, Denmark, Portugal, Belgium, India, Georgia participate, the world premiere of the film “One Little Night Secret” by Natalia Meshchaninova took place.

This is her third feature film and her sixth in Rotterdam. In 2014, Meshchaninova’s debut Nadezhda Plant, filmed in Norilsk about a 17-year-old heroine, participated in the main competition, and five years later her second film, Heart of the World, was shown. In 2014, Oksana Bychkova’s “Another Year” by Natalia received the main award of the “Big Screen” competition, and now she herself presented her directorial work in this program. It will be evaluated by a jury of five cinema lovers. The winner will get the opportunity to rent in the Netherlands. Over the years, Rotterdam has shown Boris Khlebnikov’s Arrhythmia, Alexei Fedorchenko’s War Anna based on scripts by Natalia Meshchaninova. So she is known in Rotterdam, and this certainly determined her participation in the current festival, when all paths are blocked for Russian cinema around the world. It also played a role that, even at the development stage, One Little Night Secret received a grant from the Hubert Bals Foundation in 2021, which, together with the Rotterdam Festival, provides support to talented filmmakers from different countries.

Natasha filmed the series – “Red Bracelets”, “My Mom’s Penguins”, “Alice Can’t Wait”. In almost all of her paintings, the theme of growing up is touched upon, and the young heroines will experience their first feelings, learn what betrayal is. Some time ago, Natasha began to publish her stories on social networks about a teenage girl, whom she herself guessed. It was hard to believe, because the experiences of her heroine were so terrible and were perceived as the author’s confession, too bold and frank. Usually people hide such facts of their biography. The stories resonated. Adults, not only women, but also men, those who are still subjected to domestic violence, turned to Natasha with words of gratitude for speaking her thoughts aloud. She felt better after that too. The pain let go when the secret was no longer a secret. Now a film about hidden violence within the family has been born.

In One Little Night Secret, 14-year-old Mira, played by 17-year-old Tasya Kalinina (she has already starred in 20 films, is very talented, as if without skin), lives with her mother, stepfather and little sister. She looks like girls her age, except that she is very gentle, not rude. She does not like her own nose – collective farm, provincial. It is open to the world, and the world is so complex. The lustful stepfather – Uncle Andrei, who was played with psychological accuracy by the actor and husband of Natalia Meshchaninova Stepan Devonin – comes into the girl’s bedroom in the evenings. And she, shrinking into a ball, is only able to say: “Please leave.” The mother is either blind, or, as it is written in the story of Natalia Meshchaninova, “serenely does not notice anything”, does not want to notice. For some reason, she needs this terrible man who mocks her daughter.

New Year’s Eve in the flickering of lights was fantastically beautifully shot by cameraman Artem Emelyanov. Mira miraculously escaped from the house, came to her friend Lera (Liza Zaporozhets). Her brother threw a party in the spirit of the 90s. In the company of his friends there is practically a prince named Danya, who came from Riga. His role in the richness of halftones was played by twenty-year-old Oleg Savostyuk. A company of different ages listens to “Clouds”, “Ivanushki International”, other hits of that time – all this is the last, mossy century for them. Under the chimes from the balcony, they launch firecrackers with wishes, and Mira will write a terrible phrase about her stepfather. She likes Danya – not like everyone else, arranges a fiery show and seems to be in love with her. Mira’s heart is beating wildly, she asks the question: “Does a heart attack happen at 14?” Such as hers, only at this age is possible. The girl wants to rush off with her prince with lights, away from the hell in which she lives. Happiness is so possible! And his fragility is evident in this crystal clear and complex film. A magnificent shot where Mira is pressed into the sofa, as if penetrating into it, disappears, but it still won’t be possible to dissolve in space.

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 28962 dated February 1, 2023

Newspaper headline:
Secrets of a Russian girl