Core of the World | Serdtse mira

"Bordering on magical realism, Natalia Meshchaninova’s new film is a naturally engaging portrait of an unconventional hero, played masterfully by Stepan Devonin"

Cineuropa
  • Archive - Festival 35
  • Director: Natalia Meshchaninova
  • Russia, Lithuania 2018
  • 124 minutes
  • Russian
  • Subtitles in Hebrew, English

Having cut all ties with his family, 25-year-old Egor lives on a remote farm, where foxes are raised to train hunting dogs, and he works as a vet. He feels better and safer among animals and keeps aloof from people. Echoes of his troubled past, along with the arrival of animal activists, gradually erode the refuge he has created for himself.

Natalia Meshchaninova claims her place as a significant voice in Russian cinema with this superbly acted study of the fragility of human empathy under pressure.

Filmography: The Hope Factory (2014).


  • Director Natalia Meshchaninova
  • Production Sergey Selyanov, Natalia Drozd
  • Script Natalia Meshchaninova, Boris Khlebnikov, Stepan Devonin
  • Cinematography Evgeniy Tsvetkov
  • Editing Dasha Danilova
  • Festivals Toronto, San Sebastian, Rotterdam, Sochi (Grand Prix)
  • Actors Stepan Devonin, Yana Sekste, Dmitriy Podnozov, Vitya Ovodkov
  • Source Indie Sales Company, Paris