Kochegar [Aleksey Balabanov] torrent

StokerKochegarCountry: Russia Production year: 2010Festival: 2011Director: Aleksey BalabanovProducer: Sergey SelyanovCast: Mikhail Skryabin, Yuri Matveyev, Alexander Mosin, Aida Tumutova, Anna KorotaevaDuration: 83 minWebsite: http://www.kochegar-film.ru/Film section: Special Screenings Description:The latest film by the Russian master takes us to the 1990s and the city of St. Petersburg, right before the disintegration of the Soviet empire. A veteran of the Afghan war, a retired major, a hero of the Soviet Union, works as a stoker in a boiler room. He is an ethnic Yakut. He spends his life shovelling coal into the furnace and writing a book. Outside, it is the era of tempestuous changes in Russian society. The ubiquitous presence of organized crime even extends to his boiler room. Old veteran friends pay him visits, to burn something that seems to be human bodies, but the stoker doesn't seem to care. Producer's statement: "This was a very important time for Russia, an eventful one during which a new system was emerging. For a long time our society was frightened to discuss this period, but we are now able to think about it. From the filmmaker's perspective, it was like the Wild West, a source of creative energy".Aleksey Balabanov: Born in 1959 in Sverdlovsk. He graduated from the translation department of the Gorky Pedagogical Institute and completed director's courses in Moscow. He worked as an assistant director at Sverdlovsk Studios from 1983 to 1987. In 1992 he received rave reviews for his feature debut 'Happy Days'. In 1994 he made his debut as a producer with the film 'Confession to a Stranger'. His film 'Brother' (1997) became a cult film and at the same time a great Russian box office hit.