Russian polar explorers win in London

Russian dramas have been recently gaining momentum across the world, and claiming a host of prestigious awards.

How I Ended This Summer, from one of Russia’s most promising young directors, Aleksey Popogrebsky, has picked up the Best Film award at the 54th BFI London Film Festival.

The psychological drama featuring breathtaking scenery and powerful artistic performances speaks for itself and has already received two Silver Bears at the Berlinale Film Festival earlier this year.

Set in a polar station in the middle of nowhere in the Arctic Ocean, it revolves around two men coping with extreme weather conditions and serious irreconcilable personal differences.

“With elemental themes of isolation, alienation and the power of misunderstanding, How I Ended This Summer is a visceral psychological drama set in the immersive landscape of the windswept Arctic,” the jury chair Patricia Clarkson was quoted as saying.

“Popogrebsky has combined stunning cinematography with painterly attention to production detail and has drawn intense and subtle performances from actors Grigory Dobrygin and Sergey Puskepalis. The film turns the hunter versus hunted narrative on its head to provoke powerful questions about life and death, resilience and human compassion. Tense, moving and universal in its scope, this is a cinematic tour de force."