It is one year since Vladimir Putin changed the constitution to ban same-sex marriage with an amendment that explicitly defines marriage as between a man and woman. Russia is not an LGBTQIA+ friendly place. Russian agency, Voskhod, has put up a challenge to widespread negativity towards the LGBTQIA+ community. It has created a short film, We Will Become Better, to promote the message, that love is universal.
A very brave, in fact a dangerous undertaking in Russia.
The initiative was begun by a group of Moscow’s LGBTQIA+ organisations, who reached out to Voskhod. The agency then brought together a host of sympathetic allies to the cause, including Wieden + Kennedy writer, Evgeny Primachenko; director, Andzej Gavriss; and Russian band, Sansara. The resulting film was co-produced by Daddy’s Film and Spot, alongside international production partner, Halal. It’s a powerful yet nuanced protest against offensive, narrow portrayals of same-sex relationships. It calls on the Russian public to ‘become better’.
The film’s message is simple but carries immense personal risk for the creative team behind it. Not only does it potentially infringe Russia’s notorious 2013 “gay propaganda” law, which criminalises representations of the LGBTQIA+ community and their relationships, homophobic sentiment and hate crimes are rife across the former Soviet Union. Adding fuel to the fire is a recent wave of adverts designed to drum up support for the constitutional amendment, which presents LGBTQIA+ people in offensive and cliched ways, from an ice cream that promises to ‘turn you straight’ to a dire warning about gay adoptive parents.
The film, set in Moscow, portrays an impossible romance between two lovers who are separated by both distance and circumstance, namely Russia’s anti-gay laws and mainstream homophobia. Althuogh they are physically apart they seem to collide and interact via split-screen imagery and their forbidden love is explored through movement and dance. In this intense world, the normal ups and downs of a relationship are compounded by the fear of coming out and the public hostility that lies beyond the walls of their separate apartments.
“These are two people that love each other and want to be together, but forbid themselves. Because of societal judgment, because of certain walls that are created around that relationship, which unfortunately cannot happen,” explains Evgeny Primachenko, writer and creative director at Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam.
Alla Chikinda, from the Yekaterinburg Resource Center for LGBT people, commented, “This campaign is a precedent for Russia’s social advertising industry. It’s the first-ever project created by an LGBT-organisation and a marketing agency. The video has been produced by one of the country’s most successful ad agencies and it features a popular song, so it’s a big step towards recognizing the importance of LGBT+-oriented agenda. In today’s Russia, the majority of LBGT+ people cannot speak about their life without the fear of being judged. They live together with their partners but can open up about it only to a small circle of friends. At work, their heterosexual colleagues would share pictures from their family vacations. LGBT+ people would only keep silent, being unable to share details of their life. And, of course, having to hide your life over many years has a negative impact on your mental health. Again, let’s not forget that the news headlines are full of information on how two men got attacked on the street, got insulted in a public space or were banned from visiting a café. That’s why we still have to talk about how hard it is for LGBT+ people to be together.”
Latvian director, Andzej Gavriss, represented by Halal, was instantly draw to the project. As a genuine ally to the LGBTQIA+ cause and community, it appealed on many levels. “It was so fragile and so loving, which is very different to what I normally do. I wanted to bring all of my own emotions into it, so I decided to co-write it. I wanted it to be an emotional rollercoaster.” Gavriss brought his experimental filmmaking style, combining beautifully crafted shots with hard-hitting storytelling, to the film.
With the stakes so high, casting for the two lovers proved problematic, with many potential performers turning down the roles for fear their lives would be ruined. For dancers, Nikita Orlov and Maxim Avdeev, however, the project’s strong personal appeal made it worth the risk. “We joined this project to help other people, to help them feel, ‘You’re not alone’, or ‘It’s okay to be alone, and you can be whoever you want to be’. We’re not making propaganda, it’s just a little film that shows another way of loving. We’re not being activists, we’re just human beings,” Avdeev stated.
In order to perfectly match the movements of each dancer in their different locations, every move was painstakingly planned, shot and edited on iPhone during extensive rehearsals before being performed on set. The staging was equally important in creating a powerful atmosphere, interweaving symbolism andc emotion.
Although public opposition to the film is inevitable, the creative team ishopeful that its delicate approach will sway hearts and minds without apportioning blame or inciting violence. “I really didn’t want to riot, protest, point fingers or scream angrily at people,” stated Primachenko. “Because for me love is universal, regardless of your gender, your age, your sexual orientation, your skin colour – it doesn’t matter, you’ve got to have an essential right to love. That’s what this film is really about.”
“This is the first Russian LGBTQIA+ film in years that actually portrays a gay relationship,” added Gavriss. “It’s about pure love. And if the Russian audience feel for the couple, hopefully that can change their minds.”
The film ends with a link to LGBTNET.ORG, an organisation which is an advocate for respect and tolerance towards the gay community in Russia.
Credits:
Agency: Voskhod
Production: Daddy’s Film & Spot
Director Andzej Gavriss
Story: Evgeny Primachenko
Written by Evgeny Primachenko & Andzej Gavriss
DoP: Andrey Nikolaev
Production Designer: Julija Fricsone-Gavriss
Creative Director Evgeny Primachenko
Line Producer: Alexandra Galius
Executive Producers Egor Solomatin, Marizov Mikhail & Evgeny Primachenko
Associate Producers: Gijs Determeijer & Ulia Petrova
Editor: David Gesslbauer
Music: Sansara feat Felix Bondarev
Colour Grade: Matt Osborne
Colour Producer: Blake Rice
Choreographer: Konstantin Koval
Sound Design Raja Sehgal & Markus Ffitch @ Grand Central Recording Studios
1st AD: Maksim Kulish
Cast: Nikita Orlov & Maksim Avdeev
Production Manager: Mikhail Goglov & Dmitry Dimchevsky
Location manager: Aleksandr Kalkaev
Gaffer: Nikolay Vakhrameev
Set Decorator Maria Shymchuk & Slava Chulikov
Property Master: Maria Shymcuk
Property Assistants: Daniil Sviridov & Ilya Novik
Focus Pullers: Viktor Saratov & Igor Gusev
Keygrip: Sergey Irgizcev
Steadicam: Danil Voytov & Sergey Avdonin
Light Crew: Evgeny Gavrilov, Aleksey Egiazaryan, Sergey Skokov, Vadim Kodzhebash, David Dzhayani & Roman Ivanovsky
Pult operator: Vladimir Ovchinikov
On Set Editor; Dmitry Buleyko
Camera rental: Yourental
Stylist: Oksana Markina
Stylist Assistant: Ekaterina Pavlova
PAs:Mark Privalov & Sergey Poyarkov
Make-up: Tatiana Polyakova
Stunt: Oleg Chemadurov
Rig: Rodion Klochkov & Aleksandr Kraevskiy
CG Artist: Sergei Divid
3D animation: Kirill Makukha & Maxim Makukha
Script Supervisor: Tim Eight
BTS DoP: Oleg Kolsky BTS Edit: Daniil Galius
Clean-up Dmitry Talin
Title Designer: Andrey Olshevsky
PR Director: Jessica Hartley
Special thanks to Roman Kovyazin, Alexandra Bakhmetyeva, Anton Kuznetsov, Yana Gannick, Vladimir Kravchenko, Dmitry Kolezev & Natalja Lea
