The Student

Kirill Serebrennikov’s splendid “The Student,” a stormy, swoon-inducingly shot hits as hard and as heavily as a nastoyka hangover.

Variety

Archive - Festival 32
Director: Kirill Serebrennikov
Russia 2016
118 minutes
Russian
Subtitles in Hebrew, English

Veniamin found God. The Russian teen fanatically reads the Bible over and over, spouting quotes which he takes way too literally. His zealotry begins at swim lessons, where Veniamin refuses to undress for religious reasons. Then he starts to argue the case for Creationism in school. His mother suspects drugs or insecurity, but her son is on a different mission entirely.
Kirill Serebrennikov’s intelligent study of religious fanaticism is based on the German play Martyr by Marius Mayenburg.
Filmography: Betrayal (2012), Yuri’s Day (2008), Playing the Victim (2006), Bed Stories (2004), Ragin (2004).

Director Kirill Serebrennikov
Production Ilya Stewart, Diana Safarova, Yury Kozyrev
Script Kirill Serebrennikov, adapted from the play "Martyr" by Marius von Mayenburg
Cinematography Vladislav Opelyants
Editing Yury Karikh
Music Ilya Demutsky
Festivals Cannes, Karlovy Vary, Kinotavr (Best Director Award)
Actors Petr Skvortsov, Victoria Isakova, Julia Aug, Alexandr Gorchilin
Source Wide Management, Paris