Independent festival of Russian-speaking drama & FIlm
about
For over 30 years, the "Lubimovka" festival has been introducing the world to emerging playwrights who write in Russian, regardless of their background and culture. Through staged readings, the festival addresses the most pressing and important issues, drawing attention to what truly matters today. We have decided to combine theater and cinema to create a space for deep dialogue and self-expression. After each reading and film screening, there will be a Q&A session with the authors and directors. Our goal is to bring together Russian-speaking immigrants, local theater and film enthusiasts, as well as the professional community interested in contemporary issues and art.
PROGRAM
“VANYA IS ALIVE” BY NATALIA LIZORKINA
“BIG WATER” BY DASHA SLYUSARENKO
“BARDO THODOL OR GRANDMA, YOU’RE DEAD!”
BY NIKA VELT
“SHORT DOCUMENTARY FILM BLOCK”
OCT 20th
PROGRAM
“WOMEN IN THE DARK” BY IRINA SEREBRYAKOVA
& MASHA DENISOVA
MORE DETAILS
PREMIER ON LUBIMOVKA LA - “SAINT MARY” BY NATALIA LIZORKINA
“OFF-PROGRAM LUBIMOVKA 2024”
MORE DETAILS
“SHORT FILM BLOCK”
AGENDA October 19th
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM - Guest Arrival. Explore the art space, take photos, enjoy light snacks and drinks.
2:00 PM - 2:15 PM - Festival Opening Ceremony
2:15 PM - 2:45 PM - Play Reading: "Vanya is Alive" by Nataliya Lizorkina
2:45 PM - 3:00 PM - Q&A Session
3:00 PM - 3:15 PM - Break
3:15 PM - 4:00 PM - Play Reading: "The Big Water" by Dasha Slyusarenko
4:00 PM - 4:15 PM - Q&A Session
4:15 PM - 5:00 PM - Big Break
5:00 PM - 5:45 PM - Play Reading: "Bardo Thedol or Grandma, You’re Dead" by Nika Welt
5:45 PM - 6:00 PM - Q&A Session
6:00 PM - 6:15 PM - Break
6:15 PM - 8:00 PM - Documentary Film Program
AGENDA October 20th
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM - Guest Arrival. Explore the art space, take photos, enjoy light snacks and drinks.
2:00 PM - 2:15 PM - Opening Day 2nd
2:15 PM - 2:55 PM - Play Reading: "Women in the dark" by Irina Serebryakova and Masha Denisova
2:55 PM - 3:15 PM - Q&A Session
3:15 PM - 3:30 PM - Break
3:30 PM - 4:00 PM - Play Reading: PREMIERE LUBIMOVKA 2024 “Saint Maria”
4:00 PM - 4:15 PM - Q&A Session
4:15 PM - 5:00 PM - BIG BREAK
5:00 PM - 5:30 PM - Play Reading: SHORT LIST LUBIMOVKA 2024
5:30 PM - 5:45 PM - Q&A Session
5:45 PM - 6:00 PM - Break
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM - SHORT FILM PROGRAMM
SUPPORTING US
THANK YOU & SEE YOU ON FESTIVAL!
“VANYA IS A LIVE” BY NATALIA LIZORKINA
The play was written in Moscow immediately after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Playwright tells the story of a mother of a captured Russian soldier who tries to break through state propaganda and lies in a totalitarian state. Reflecting the real political situation in the country, the play's text explores the cost of political and physical freedom and raises the question of personal responsibility within the system
Nataliya Lizorkina is a Russian playwright and screenwriter, since 2022 she is based in Tbilisi, Georgia. Last year her most famous play "Vanya is Alive" participated in the Edinburgh Festival, directed by Ivanka Polchenko. Laureate of the International playwriting competition Eurodram 2024, has been translated into English, French, German, Spanish, Finnish and Georgian, and was published by the Auditoria publishing house in Tbilisi. The play was included in the collections of the oldest German publishing house Rowohlt, the French collection Samizdat, and the Russian collection Freedom letters. Currently, Lizorkina is the art director of the independent dramaturgy festival Lubimovka.
“BIG WATER” BY DASHA SLYUSARENKO
A mysterious journey of two ordinary men from a small Russian town to Moscow in pursuit of their dream, which leads them into unexpected adventures.
She was born in St. Petersburg and graduated from the screenwriting course at the Moscow School of New Cinema. She worked for several years as a screenwriter for Russian TV series and films, as well as a playwright at Teatr.doc. Later, she attended the Marina Razbezhkina and Mikhail Ugarov School of Documentary Film and Theater, where she created the documentary film "Joy" and the documentary series "Silk Road." Currently, she works as a documentary film director and screenwriter.
“BARDO THODOL OR GRANDMA, YOU’RE DEAD!”
BY NIKA VELT
The story, like many of my texts, originated from a dream. However, the dream was quite different: in it, an aunt in a South Asian family had passed away but continued living with them as a ghost. Without her pension and income, the family found themselves in a difficult situation and ended up selling her to European tourists. Upon waking, I wondered how such a story would unfold with a dead grandmother in an ordinary Russian family. The result was a more existential plot.
This is a story about the collision of an ordinary person with something unusual. The growing grandmother is a metaphor for the feeling of guilt that everyone has experienced. At the same time, it's more of a universal text rather than a response to a specific topical issue since the reasons for feeling guilty are timeless here. I hope I managed to strike a balance between fear and humor.
“WOMEN IN THE DARK” BY IRINA SEREBRYAKOVA
& MASHA DENISOVA
This is a documentary text based on the testimonies of women living in Kyiv. Due to constant missile strikes, the city frequently loses electricity, phone service, internet, water, and heating. My colleague and I tell the story of the war through the lens of how civilians, especially women, live on the home front.
The text carries a comedic tone because it was important for us to show that we don't seek pity. We also explore the role that basic amenities of civilization play in the life of the city. Many of these things are taken for granted: elevators and trolleybuses keep running, and water flows from the tap. But what happens to a city when electricity is gone, even for just one day?
DOCUMENTARY FILM PROGRAM
“Monument”
Maksim Avdeev
“The Second
Life of Wafaa”
Ekaterina Pavlova
“Self-Portrait with Lev”
Alexandra Simonova
“Become a Bird”
Michelle Dalgatov
SHORT FILM PROGRAM
ONCE UPON A MINE
Desperate to escape from his home village which has been overtaken by the war in Donbas, a young man deals with numerous obstacles, following his dream. The last obstacle, however, can take his life. A story about a war inside of each person, a mine that many Ukrainians stepped on, and being afraid to accept change.
Directed By: Vovka Solovéy
Written By: Alex Gavrilenko, Vofka Solovéy
Produced By: Ksenia Pchelintseva, Anna-Maria Telambutse
SHORT FILM PROGRAM
OFF HOLLYWOOD: The Undocumented Journey of Hope
This short drama straddles two kinds of iconic narratives. One is an archetypal "L.A. story," where beautiful dreamers struggle to find their place and success in the sunny but sometimes indifferent ecosystem of Hollywood. The other is the story of immigrants eking out lives in tenuous circumstances, summoning all their resilience and ingenuity to meet their challenges. Here, they're combined beautifully in a short that's both clear-eyed about Misha's difficulties and inspiring in his ability to keep going, despite all of it.
Directed By: Tatyana Kim
Written By: Tatyana Kim & Anatoliy O
Produced By: Tatyana Kim, Anatoliy O, Julia Kostenevich
SHORT FILM PROGRAM
“AVAKO"
It's the 2000s. Anya is thirteen and left home alone for the first time, under the supervision of her neighbor, the punk Ars, with whom she's long been in love. Anya persuades Ars to take her to his youth group with the mysterious name 'Avaco,' hoping to spend the whole night with them and finally win Ars's attention.
Directed By: Ksenia Pchelintseva
Written By: Ksenia Pchelintseva, Andrey Garyazh
Produced By: Ksenia Pchelintseva, Anna-Maria Telambutse
ECHO LUBIMOVKA
LOS ANGELES
Where Theater and Cinema Meet to Reflect Our Times
CONTACT US:
Producer Elena Mercuri
echoartlubimovka@gmail.com
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