Andrei Konchalovsky film in Venice Film Festival line-up

Russian-American director Andrei Konchalovsky’s latest film, The Postman’s White Nights, has made it into the main competition at this year’s Venice Film Festival. The film tells the story of a postman who has become the only link between an far-flung village and the outside world. Although fictional, the script is based on the real-life stories of people who have lived in Russia’s outlying regions. Konchalovsky involved a number of local residents in the film.

The Postman’s White Nights follows on from a series of films by the director which explore life in Russian villages, including Asya’s Luck (1967), which was banned in Russia for 20 years after it was released. Konchalovsky’s 2002 feature House of Fools, which is set in a Chechen psychiatric asylum during the First Chechen War, was awarded a Silver Lion at Venice in 2002.

The Russian classic I Walk Around Moscow (1963), starring Konchalovsky’s brother, actor and director Nikita Mikhalkov, will also be screened at the festival as part of the Classic Venice programme, which is dedicated to the celebration of restored old films.

The film festival will run from 27 August to 6 September.