Chulpan Khamatova, recognised for her role in "Good Bye Lenin", has been cast to lead "The Extremists", a feature film directed by Alexander Molochnikov based on his Oscar-nominated short film "Extremist". The production is being handled by AR Content, the production company of experienced art film producer Alexander Rodnyansky, and Forma Pro Films.
The original short film told the story of a young Russian artist who secretly replaced food labels in a Moscow supermarket with pacifist messages, an action that resulted in her arrest and the threat of a 10-year prison sentence. The feature film expands this narrative into three distinct stories, with the original short film being one of the segments, accompanied by two newly filmed perspectives. Although the project is inspired by hundreds of real stories from contemporary Russia, it is fundamentally a work of fiction and no character is intended to portray a specific individual.
Acclaimed cinematographers Manuel Alberto Claro, known for "Melancholia", and Benoît Delhomme, of "The Theory of Everything", will join the project, along with Mikhail Krichman, who was cinematographer on the original short film. Filming is currently taking place in Latvia. Rodnyansky will produce alongside Julia Zaitseva and Svetlana Punte of Forma Pro Films, while Molochnikov, Andrey Burkovskiy and Gennadiy Ravvin of Yes or Yes Studio will also serve as producers.
Khamatova is one of Russia's most famous actresses, but was forced to leave her country after criticising Putin's invasion of Ukraine. She began her career as a theatre actress and later established herself internationally with "Good Bye Lenin". She recently appeared in "Ulya", a biographical drama by director Viesturs Kairišs about Latvian basketball player Ulyana Semjonova, which premiered at Cannes this year. She is currently participating in the historical drama series "The Last Divorce of Communism".
Rodnyansky, producer of Andrey Zyagintsev's Oscar-nominated films "Loveless" and "Leviathon", said he was sentenced in absentia in Russia to eight and a half years in prison for statements against the war and has continued to speak out publicly for over four years. "I can barely imagine a subject that could feel more personal and important to me," he said. "It means a great deal to have Chulpan Khamatova in 'The Extremists'. Before the large-scale invasion of Ukraine, she was one of the most popular and widely recognised film and theatre actresses in Russia, and one of the few artists of her stature who chose to speak publicly against the war, though that decision cost her her career in her country."
