The film is being produced by Alexey Uchitel’s ROK film studio with support from the Russian Ministry of Culture and the Wink (Rostelecom) video service. The director was Stanislav Svetlov, a graduate of VGIK, whose debut film “Ada” was shown in the “Russian Premieres” program of the 45th Moscow International Film Festival, and also received the main prize of the VOICES Youth Film Festival in Vologda in July this year. “Volunteer” will replenish the Wink Originals line of projects.
The films of Alexander Rogozhkin, who died prematurely, such as “Features of the National Hunt” and “Features of the National Fishing” became real popular hits. According to the creators, “the new image is an aphoristic and dynamic, funny and sad odyssey through the strange labyrinths of the Russian soul, which invites you to look at yourself and the world around you with a new look. Today this look will be more realistic, but also brighter.”
According to the plot, a young German Werner Müller (Karl Benzchavel) turns out to be a volunteer in the neurological department of an ordinary St. Petersburg hospital. A foreigner, seized with the impulse to help all the sick and needy, looks forward to a long and eventful day. From time to time, getting into comical situations and making his way through misunderstandings, the volunteer discovers for himself all the facets of the Russian national character.
“Through Rogozhkin’s special humor, a deep cut into human relationships and the desire to understand how our life works are always visible. This is the strength of the script and its versatility,” said Alexei Uchitel, general producer of the project.
“The idea of showing the national character through the eyes of a foreigner has always occupied filmmakers. But the film Volunteer offers an unusual perspective for this: the hero, and with him the viewer, will not be inside a vast Russian holiday, but in circumstances involving completely different emotions. And, of course, Alexander Rogozhkin’s script in this case means that we are again waiting for a modern cinematic encyclopedia of Russian life,” said Alexander Kosarim, content director of the Wink video service.
“It is a great honor and responsibility for me to embody the plot of Volunteers on the screen and, preserving the spirit of Rogozhkin, to tell the current story in a modern film language. It was a great success to find a German actor who first came from Germany to Russia for the lead role, as the hero of our film,” shared the film’s director, Stanislav Svetlov.
The film also starred: Victoria Isakova, Maria Lukyanova, Alexei Rozin, Vasily Kortukov, Olga Smirnova, Viktor Bychkov, Arkady Ukupnik, Anna Aleksakhina, Oleg Garkusha, Yuri Stepanov Jr. and others. Producers: Kira Saksaganskaya, Ilya Uchitel, Anastasia Akopyan.
