The film’s director, Ilya Demichev, calls “CRAWFISHLIKE” a “drama of lost expectations.” Meanwhile Demichev’s own cinematic career seems to be gaining momentum day by day.

The 31-year old aspiring artist has tried his hand at directing movies for the first time. He owns a chain of restaurants and writes poetry and scripts. The businessman-turned-director told RT he became a filmmaker quite by chance.

On set of "CRAWFISHLIKE". Photo by Nora Jane

Demichev recalls that he immediately felt at ease sitting in director’s chair. “Of course, in the beginning there was a feeling of anxiety, but the more we worked, the more confidence I gained.”

And according to film critics, it shows. Demichev’s drama has been described as touching and nostalgic and, despite a lack of experience, even mature.

Shooting lasted only 42 days with the film’s budget $2.5 million. “It’s not a small budget for Russia,” says the businessman. “Many other Russian films were made with less money.”

The art-house production is vying for the prestigious “Lion of the Future” award for best Debut Film at the Venice Film Festival.

Ilya Demichev with the crew. Photo by Nora Jane

“I feared many things in the film would be ‘lost in translation’ – some humor, the play on words, metaphors, etc. But the subtitles in Italian have exceeded my expectations. Italian critics and the public reacted to the film so energetically that, audience-wise, there was no difference at all in Russia and Italy. The reaction was identical: People were laughing at the same things.”

- Have you ever eaten lobsters?
 – No. What do they look like?
 – They're like crawfish, only bigger.

Russian and European audiences will have to watch “CRAWFISHLIKE” to the end to get the film’s message.

Valeria Paikova, RT