- year : 2023
- country : Russia
- timing : 25:31'
- genre : fiction film
- producer : Kristina Zybenkova
- production : Russian State University of Cinematography named after S. Gerasimov (VGIK)
written by Kristina Zybenkova, Alexandra Petrovskaya
produced by Anna Ushakova
DoP Alexey Fedorov
music by Katya Dar
sound by Marina Ignatieva
editor Svetlana Rozhkova
production designer Arina Chivanova
cast: Alyona Malakhova, Elena Voronchikhina, Tatiana Vasilyeva, Tatiana Plenkina
The life of nine-year-old Vera, a gifted pianist, becomes extremely difficult on the eve of a music competition. Her mom expects great achievements from her, and makes little Vera practice non-stop, seeming cold and strict her daughter. The profiteering music teacher is increasingly mean to Vera. The girl can hardly stand the hateful lessons. But how can she cope with the detachment and animosity of her own mother?
- Luleå International Film Festival, Best Student Film (2023, Sweden, Luleå)
- ONE Country ONE Film International Festival (2023, France, Apchat, Issoire)
- Huesca International Film Festival (2023, Spain, Huesca)
- Pune Short Film Festival (2023, India, Pune)
- Jecheon International Music & Film Festival (2023, South Korea, Jecheon)
- Amur Autumn Russian Film and Theater Festival, Special Jury Diploma, Prize for the Best female role to Elena Voronchikhina (2023, Russia, Blagoveshchensk)
- Russian Film Festival "A Man Knowing the World" (2023, Russia, Simferopol)
- Rome Independent Film Festival (2023, Italy, Rome)
- Festival international Signes de Nuit - Paris (2023, France, Paris)
- Antakya International Film Festival (2023, Türkiye, Antakya)
- International Open Youth Festival of TV Programs and Films “Telemania” (2023, Russia, Moscow)
- Northern Character International Film Festival (2023, Russia, Murmansk)
- International Kolkata Short Film Festival (2024, India, Kolkata)
- Festival of Contemporary cinema "Chernorechye Fest", Best Director (2023, Russia, Dzerzhinsk)
- 8 Women International Film Festival, Best Short Film (2024, Russia, Moscow)
- Festival of modern and actual cinema "Alafeiskaya Gora", Best Short Film (2024, Russia, Tobolsk)
Director’s statement
I learned about Maria Stepanova's story The Untempered Clavier when I was looking for material for my thesis. The story captivated me. I realized that I could make the movie that I wanted so much: poignant, dramatic, frightening at times, but at the same time giving hope.
I have long been concerned with the way a family systematically functions. In particular, what to do when the family has unhealthy relationships that pass down from generation to generation. How to break this vicious cycle and rebuild? Why do these adult tasks of ‘breaking the wheel’ sometimes fall on the frail shoulders of a child?
In the film Lessons of music, based on the above-mentioned story, the most important theme for me was to identify the dual nature of a child's actions, taken for the sake of a beloved adult. A little girl performs a brave and wonderful deed out of love for her mother, which in the future is able to give a qualitatively different relationship in the family. But what is the price of such an act?
ABOUT THE FILM DIRECTOR:
Kristina Zybenkova was born on 24.10.1990 in Lytkarino, Russia. In 2013 graduated from the Moscow University for the Humanities. In 2020 graduated from the Russian State University of Cinematography named after S. Gerasimov (VGIK) as a film director.
FILMOGRAPHY:
Kristina Zybenkova was born on 24.10.1990 in Lytkarino, Russia. In 2013 graduated from the Moscow University for the Humanities. In 2020 graduated from the Russian State University of Cinematography named after S. Gerasimov (VGIK) as a film director.
