Raul Gaydarov's Debut Drama 'Sidney Lumet's Birthday' Premieres

The debut film by Raul Gaydarov, a graduate of VGIK (the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography), «Sidney Lumet»s Birthday«, is released wide on January 29. The picture is a coming-of-age drama created with the participation of producer Alexey Uchitel.

The story revolves around seventeen-year-old Dato, who lives with his grandmother in a village in Krasnodar Krai. The hero dreams of a career as a director, drawing inspiration from the films of American classic Sidney Lumet. His familiar world collapses when after eight years of imprisonment, his mother returns home — with a fiancé and a video camera.

The role of Dato is played by Artem Koshman, known to viewers from the projects «Black Spring» and «Children of Change». The grandmother is played by Julietta Stepanyan («Mannyunya»). The filming also involved Marietta Tsigal-Polishchuk («Ranevskaya») and Artem Fedotov («Legend No. 17»).

Director Raul Gaydarov admitted that the story is largely autobiographical:

Many events and characters were taken from my life. I never, however, dreamed of working in this profession. By first education, I am a driller. Once, my friends and I decided to make a film on a VHS camera — after that, I had the thought to try to enter the directing department. So it«s an absolute coincidence. And Sidney Lumet»s birthday is the birthday of the director as such. Creative beginning in a person is often born through a certain path. And most often this path is very difficult.

Artem Koshman shared his opinion about working with Gaydarov:

Raul is a very wise, kind person with a big heart, who has gone through many trials. And an absolute professional in his field. I have never been so interested in working before. And although I already have some professional achievements, working on «Lumet» really became a second birthday. Creative at least for sure.

Film critics favorably received the film, drawing parallels with the films of Georgy Danelia. They described it as a tremulous canvas, full of amazing tenderness and tragedy.

The age restriction for viewing is 16+.