/* durak_english.cpp   VER. 1.16.008 21 Jun 2001 */
#include <stdio.h>
int main(void) {

Ivan the Idiot

A Russian Cybercomic by Alexander Doulerain and Sergei Koryagin

Young Ivan (Sergei Koryagin) returns to his native city of "Beyondwill" and along the way, almost runs over a girl (Inna Kolosova) with his car. In trying to help the girl, who suffers from amnesia, he finds out that she has run away from the clinic of mad medical genius Dr. Strauss (Boris Yuhananov). Not only is the evil doctor secretly in love with the girl, he has made her the subject of a gone-wrong medical experiment, hooking her brain up to a computer which constantly plunges her into a parallel reality. She has a little trouble adjusting to the world once she's out of the clutches of the diabolical Dr. Strauss. But is she? In a desperate attempt to keep the woman he loves, Dr. Strauss pulls off one last dastardly feat. He fiendishly uses his computer to hide the girl deep in a sublevel reality from which Ivan, and friends Ilya (Dmitry Troitsky) and Arkady (Gleb Aleinikov) can only hope to be able to free her.

Co-directors and collaborators Alexander Doulerain and Sergei Koryagin have teamed up to create the first film in a groundbreaking new genre, the Russian Cybercomic. "Ivan the Idiot" is a future cult classic, which provides a window on to the best of traditional Russian film and performance art as showcased through a new generation of independent filmmakers, actors, and artists.

Directors

Alexander Doulerain
Born 1966 in Grozny. Lives in Moscow. Educated at the Institute of Electronic Technology in Moscow, as well as at the Moscow Studio for Individual Directing and the New-York Film Academy. Co-founder of Cine Fantom, the first Russian Independent film studio. Has produced and directed numerous films including: "Dachniky" (co-produced and co-directed with Sergei Koryagin) which won the International Short Film Festival in Hamburg; "The Youth of the Constructor" which was awarded Second Prize at the Exotica Film Festival in Petersburg, and was screened at the New York Film Archives as part of the New Russian Film series; "The Desire to See a Film of Rainer Warner Fassbinder" (co-produced and co-directed with Sergei Koryagin) which was awarded Special Prize at the New York Film Academy. Doulerain also has extensive experience as a director and actor in the theater, and is currently the Director of Creative Services for the CTC Television Network in Russia.

Sergei Koryagin
Born in 1966 in Gargarin, Russia. Currently lives in Moscow. Educated at the Moscow Institute of Electronic Technology and the Moscow Studio for Individual Directing. Films include "The Desire to See a Film of Rainer Warner Fassbinder" (co-produced and co-directed with Alexander Doulerain) which was awarded Special Prize at the New York Film Academy, and "Dachniky" (also co-produced and co-directed with Alexander Doulerain) which won the International Short Film Festival in Hamburg.

Production

August 2000 Film Company was founded in the month of August during the year 2000. The company specializes in producing good films.

Cine Fantom Studio opened its door in 1984 and quickly gained fame as the first studio of Russian independent and experimental film. Russia has always had a strong history of supporting the film arts, doing so within the framework of the state system. Cine Fantom opened the window onto truly independent film, giving classically trained film and performing arts professionals the opportunity to apply their craft in an environment without restrictions imposed by government, strict traditionalists, or in recent years, corporate entities. To date, Cine Fantom has produced hundreds of films, and film and video projects, many of which are award winners, several of which are parts of permanent collections of film museums around the world. The studio has also organized numerous international tours of independent and experimental Russian film across Europe, Eastern Europe, and America. In Moscow, Cine Fantom runs festivals, as well as regularly scheduled showings and seminars focusing on both Russian and international independent film work.

Studio for Individual Directing opened in 1988, first in Leningrad and later in Moscow, as an organizational body fostering the independent film and theater arts in Russia. The Studio unites producers, directors, actors, artists, musicians, etc., and was initially set up as the first alternative to the state system of film and theatrical education, focusing on breaking down the barriers between the Russian traditional and the Russian independent and avant-garde. In 1996 the Studio opened a production center, and in 1997 began a course series of master acting and directing classes.

The Dom Culture Center was organized in May 1999 as a creative organization joining together musicians, artists, literary critiques, art critiques, journalists, and curators, who put before themselves the task of fostering and developing new forms of art. Working forms include poetry and prose, modern dance, film and video art, photography, painting and installation, advanced design, new theater, and improvisational music in all forms, including academic and experimental, acoustic and electronic, folk and philharmonic. The activities of DOM join in one space artists, photographers, designers, writers poets, dancers, cinematographers, theatrical professionals, performance artists, new composers, singers, and a variety of musicians who specialize in several different genres, including electronic, new improvisational, sound poetry, world music, and folklore. The goal of DOM is to support ongoing cultural beginnings.

Cast

Sergei Koryagin (Ivan)
See above

Inna Kolosova (the girl)
Born 1968 in Kiev. Educated at Moscow State University in the Department of Cybernetics and Computer Science, and at the Moscow Studio for Individual Directing. As a writer, director, and actress, Ms. Kolosova has numerous films and theatrical productions to her credit, including "A Video-Journal for Housewives," (featured at the Frankfurt and Cottbus Film Festivals), and Pushkin's "The Mermaid" which was performed at the renowned Center of Modern Arts in Moscow. She also played the leading role in Boris Yuhananov's acclaimed television drama series "Twentieth Century Moscow." Kolosova is currently preparing for the theatrical premier of "Show," based on B. Show's "Home is Where Hearts Break." She is the founder of "Female-Female Film Theory."

Boris Yuhananov (Dr. Strauss)
Born 1957 in Moscow. Educated at the Voronezh Arts Institute and School of Theatre Direction, as well as at the Russian Academy of Theater Arts (GITIS). Widely considered one of the brightest and most radical figures in contemporary Russian theater. In addition to having written and directed more than 20 films, Yuhananov has directed several ballets, and numerous theatrical productions, including, "Garden" which received international acclaim and was voted one of the Top Ten Best Russian plays. His work in film and theater has been showcased in over 30 top international film and theater festivals, including the Edinburgh Theater Festival and the Berlin Film Festival. He also wrote and directed the acclaimed television drama series "Twentieth Century Moscow." In 1986, he founded the movement of "Parallel Cinema" with the Aleinikov Brothers and received international recognition. Yuhananov is currently the art director for the Acting-Directing Course in the Russian Academy of Theater Arts (GITIS). His theatrical rendition of "Faust" is presently running in Moscow.

Oleg Haibullin (Father Vikenty)
Born 1966 in Salavat. Lives in Moscow. Educated at the Studio for Individual Directing, Moscow. Haibullin has worked extensively in theater, film, and television as an actor, producer, director and screenwriter. His work has been showcased at festivals around the world, as well as at some of the most prestigious film and performance venues in Russia, including Moscow's Museum of Film and The Center of Modern Art. Haibullin currently is playing Mephistopheles in Boris Yuhananov's rendition of "Faust," showing at the renowned Stanislavksy Theater. He also produces and directs several ongoing programs for television, including the very popular Russian version of the game show "The Dating Game."

Dmitry Troitsky (Ilya)
Born in 1971 in Moscow. Graduated from Moscow State Lomonosov University, Department of History, and from the Moscow Studios of Individual Direction (now part of the Russian Academy of Theater). Organizer of the art group "MU-SEUM" and one of the co-founders of Cine Fantom Studios. Writer and director of numerous theatrical productions and exhibitions, including several performances at the prestigious Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. Produced and Directed the short film "Bruner's Trial" which was acquired by New York's Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art as part of the Museum's Film and Video archive. Currently works as Executive Producer of the CTC Television Network in Russia, overseeing among other productions, the Russian version of the television game shows "The Dating Game" and "The Newlywed Game."

Gleb Aleinikov (Arkady)
Born 1966 in Grozny. Lives in Moscow. Educated at the Institute of Building Engineering in Moscow. As one of the pioneers of independent film in Russia, Aleinikov has received international attention as one of the co-founders of the "Parallel Cinema" movement. He is the director of more than 25 films, including: "Tractors," which in 1990 was showcased in London as one of the ten best post-war experimental films in the world; "The Expectation of De Bil," received the Grand Prize at the Oberhaussen Film Festival; "There was Someone Here" (with Mosfilm Film Studio) was the second highest rated European film in the journal "Film Faust" in 1990; "Traktoristi 2" (with Mosfilm) has become a cult film for modern Russian youth. In addition to participating in more than fifty international film festivals, Alienikov's work has been featured in retrospective showings at film museums around the world, including Amsterdam, London, Moscow, Frankfurt am Main, and also in New York's Lincoln Center. Aleinikov is currently the Director of Cine Fantom Studios. He has taught at the Moscow Studio for Individual Directing since 1988.

Sergei Chonivshily (policeman)
Born 1965. Immediately upon graduating from the Theater School of B.V. Shukin in 1986, Chonivshily was accepted into the prestigious Lenkom Theater troop under the direction of Mark Zakharov, where he has since been seen in dozens of productions, as well as in frequent on-stage appearances at the renowned Theatrical Studio of Oleg Tabakov. In 1999, Chonivshily received the coveted theatrical award "Chaika" for his role in "Mystification" and was also bestowed the title "Honored Artist of Russia." He frequently appears in leading roles on screen in television and film, and is also the author of "Insignificant Exchanges," a book of poetry and prose.

Nina Ruslanova (Ivan's mother)
Born in 1945 in Bogodykhov, Ukraine. Finished the Theater School of B.V. Shukin. Acted in the theater of Evgeni Bakhtangova until 1985, when she joined the prestigious Mayakovsky Theater. In 1988 began acting for Gorky Film Studios. Since her on-screen debut in 1969 in Kira Muratova's "A Short Meeting," Ruslanova has appeared in over 75 films, many of which are classics of Russian cinema. Over the course of her career she has twice received the prestigious "Nika" Award for acting, and in 1982 she was bestowed the titled "Honored Artist of Russia." She later received the highest honor awarded to an artist in Russia when she was granted the title "People's Artist of Russia."

Origin of idea

Ivan the Idiot is one of the most popular personas found in Russian folklore. His story serves as the basic fable of "Ivan the Idiot": Ivan as hero saves a sleeping beauty from the clutches of evil. However, in this rendition, "Ivan the Idiot" is told in a slightly different style than usual; it's a cybercomic.

"Ivan the Idiot" embraces a variety of themes and influences. From classical Russian folklore to the cosmogony of Daniel Andreev, one of the most esoteric philosophers of the 20th century, there are traces of "Rambo: First Blood," Goddard, Sterling and Gibson (the fathers of cyberpunk), popular Russian cartoons of the 1970s, and Russian parallel cinema of the 1990s. The Marx Brothers and Kuleshova also receive a nod in this new Russian avant-garde comedy.

Almost all of the participants in the film are young, independent actors and directors. However, peppered among the cast are such famous faces as Gleb Aleinikov (Arkady), one of the founders of Russian independent film and Boris Yuhananov (Doctor Strauss), a prominent figure in contemporary Russian theater. Additionally, in the role of Ivan's mother, Nina Ruslanova, star of Russian film and theater, plays a surprise cameo.

Cyber-Fairytale

Hackers, computers, another reality, "drill for brains", the girl existing in parallel worlds: You think, it's about "Matrix"? No! It's a first Russian "cyber-punk" film "Ivan the Idiot". The idea of this film appeared 8 years ago. Their authors are Alexander Doulerain and Yan Rauh. And now, when the film is made, its heroes are still modern.

It will be difficult for you to find the answer for the popular question: "What is a film about?" during the screening of the "Ivan the Idiot". It is not a secret. But the young authors of the film are so fond of process that they have no time to formulate the conception of their film.

Sergey Koryagin (a director, a performer of the main role)

– There are some fantastic elements, of course. The genre is displaced. It is displaced visually and in subject. But it is not exactly a fantastic film, and not exactly a comedy.

The main thing for the young people today is a computer. And some sinister story is spreading around it. A mad genius scientist threw out obsolete computer chip. The source of feeding for the computer will be a human brain. But the reasonable question appears: why the name of the film is the name of Russian fairy-tail "Ivan the Idiot"?

Alexander Doulerain (the scriptwriter, the director):

– The stile is – rather strict "cyber-punk". But I think that it doesn't come in a conflict with Russian fairy-tails.

Anastasya Nefedova (designer):

– The style of the film will change rather sharp. I think there are three main styles in the film.

        return 0;
}