A thrilling season of classic musicals from Russia and the Caucasus, including two special screenings of famed propaganda musical COSSACKS OF THE KUBAN (1949) at the British Film Institute in October 2019 and a main programme at the Ciné Lumière, London, in January 2020 before regional screenings nationwide.
About the Season
Melodia! celebrates the diversity and complexity of Soviet, Russian and Caucasian musicals. It gives UK audiences a unique opportunity to explore an undiscovered musical tradition in the context of the main BFI programme of American and British musicals. Highlights of the season include: COSSACKS OF THE KUBAN (1949) with numbers from famed composer Isaac Dunaevsky which mythologises Soviet prosperity and CHERYOMUSHKI (1963), based on Dmitri Shostakovich‘s operetta of the same name exploring housing shortages in Moscow in the 1950s. It also comprises beloved Soviet classics, such as Eldar Ryazanov’s CARNIVAL NIGHT (1956) alongside HIPSTERS (2008), an optimistic rethinking of Soviet counter-culture of the 1950s, and LETO (2018), directed by recently detained director Kirill Serebrennikov, expemplifying a controversial new nostalgia towards the Perestroika spirit of freedom.

Cossacks of the Kuban (1949)
by Ivan Pyryev
Mo 14.10.2019
Thu 31.10.2019
Podcast
Programme Note

Cheryomushki (1962)
by Herbert Rappaport
We 08.01.2020
Podcast
Programme Note

A Man from Boulevard des Capucines (1987)
by Alla Surikova
We 22.01.2020
Podcast
Programme Note

Carnival Night (1956)
by Eldar Ryazanov
Su 05.01.2020
Cine Lumiere (London)
Tu 14.01.2020
Podcast
Programme Note

Karine (1969)
by Arman Manaryan
Tu 21.01.2020
Podcast
Programme Note

Melodies of the Vera Quarter (1973)
by Giorgi Shengelaia
We 15.01.2020
Podcast
Programme Note

Hipsters (2008)
by Valery Todorovsky
Su 19.01.2020
Cine Lumiere (London)
Tu 28.01.2020
Podcast
Programme Note

We are from Jazz (1983)
by Karen Shakhnazarov
Tu 07.01.2020
Watershed Cinema (Bristol)
Su 12.01.2020
Podcast
Programme Note

Leto (2018)
by Kirill Serebrennikov
Su 26.01.2020
Cine Lumiere (London)
Fri 31.01.2020
Podcast
Programme Note

Carnival Night (1956)
by Eldar Ryazanov
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