SHORT FILM

MUSICIAN

Young pianist Dima is preparing for an audition in a prestigious music school. But before the performance, he finds that his parents separated and decides to save the family.

A Film by Aleksei Borovikov

Cast: Matvey Morozov, Maksim Onischenko, Nina Rakova, Evgeny Danchevsky

2016
Festivals
Best Sound Design
Illinifest Student Film Festival (USA)
3rd Prize - Jury Choice
MUSIC SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL (USA)
Georg Fricker Award
INDEPENDENT DAYS INTERNATIONAL FILMFESTIVAL (Germany)
BEST CHILDREN/KIDS FILM
MovieScreenPro Film Festival (США)
Participant of festivals:
Festival of Nations (Austria), River Film Festival (Italy), GRAND OFF (Poland), Kinolub (Poland), Auburn Film Festival for Children and Young Adults (Australia), Ojo de Pescado (Chile), Hope Film Awards (USA), Ouarzazate International Film Festival (Morocco), San Mauro Film Festival (Italy), Västerås Filmfestival (Sweden), White Whale Narrative Film Festival (USA), Visualízame, Audiovisual y Mujer (Spain), ENKARZINE (Spain), Farm Film Festival (Italy), NPS International Children's Film Festival (India), HAK-IS International Short Film Contest (Turkey), The Buddha International Film Festival (India), Short to the Point (Romania), CMS International Children's Film Festival (India), Near Nazareth Festival (Israel), EchoFilmFestivals BRICS – EFF BRICS (Russia), Kalpanirjhar International Short Fiction Film Festival (India), Svyataya Anna (Russia), Chelovechnoe kino (Russia), Zolotaya Pyatyorka (Russia).
Film
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Aleksei Borovikov
director
I have long wanted to make a musical picture. The film with the quality original music and the plot built around it. So I came up with the idea about a boy who is very passionate about music. And who is trying to use his talent as a pianist to solve a big adult problem. At the same time we tried to make our story not predictable and to assemble the finale also around the music. I hope you enjoy what we made.
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Aleksei Borovikov
director
The story appeared in September, 2015 as a short sketch. Then it was long and painfully processed, appended, demolished to the ground and gathered again. Totally, there were 15 drafts of this text, not including synopsis, treatment and dialogues versions. I am convinced that every reworking was beneficial. But, as they say, every movie has three birthdays - on paper, in front of camera and on editing table, and often it's completely different films.
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Aleksei Zotov
screenwriter, co-author of the script
We rewrote the script many times. Some edits were not easy. But still I'm infinitely glad. You know what's amazing: you write a script in a small room, alone or with a director on Skype, and then a lot of people come into contact with your story. It comes to life. How is it possible not to get pleasure from this?
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Valentina Zhilina
producer
For me, the shooting of the Musician was special. We had to solve many problems and tasks in a short time. I am very pleased that we collected a great team, and everyone wanted to invest his or her soul into the project. Thanks to this, we were able to realize our idea and to cope with even the most difficult tasks.
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Aleksei Borovikov
director
It was very difficult to find a young actor, who also plays a piano. We have been conducting the tests for several months. I do not know how I would have managed without 2nd assistant director Victoria Sid. With her and the producers we have visited children's acting agencies, music school for gifted children, personally met dozens of young talents. Some of them I really want to work with on some new movies, and I think we will do it. But for this story we chose Matvey. It helped that he not only was matching the role, but also had the experience of big projects, so he was able to tune in for a long work. For our production conditions, the stamina of the main actor was very important, as he is involved in absolutely every scene.
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Matvey Morozov
actor
The most interesting of cinema shooting is that you can be somebody else for a while. I have never played the piano before, but for that film I had to go to the teacher, learn how to sit and hold hands properly. It was hard when filming days were lasting long one by one. I was feeling a little tired. But it was great to feel as a part of the team. And I found new friends there!

Maksim Onischenko
actor
The Musician became for me an opportunity to get acquainted with interesting and open people. I like to take part in emerging filmmakers' projects. Members of a unit learn to make movies together. I thank those who took part, and I wish them full-length movies!
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«When I feel that after the work done I become more mature, I understand that the time was spent usefully. The Musician just deliberately made me older... After Alexei's offer to be an assistant for working with actors, I thought that this is an easy, fun opportunity to change the occupation for a while. But finally I had not only to communicate with actors, but also primarily to search for them. That was what I did not expect.» — Victoria Sid, 2nd assistant director.
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Victoria Sid
2nd assistant director
In total, I contacted about a hundred actors, it was not easy and, frankly, not always pleasant. But the filming days lifted my spirits - everything was very interesting and rich. The team that made the film is not just students of the Moscow Film School, but real professionals. And for me, the Musician is not just a project, but something more: a beautiful story, new friends, the opportunity to be on the other side of the profession and enjoy that despite all the difficulties my little work has become a part of the common cause that will remain in my heart forever.
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Dmitry Noskov
music composer
I joined the project at the stage of the script, which is quite unusual for the contemporary composer's practice. It was necessary to build on your own feelings of the text and dialogue with the director, and not from the finished picture. On the one hand, it was complicating the task, and on the other was simplifying it. The story was dictating its sound, which, in the end, appeared in the film.

Boris Karpov
sound director
For me, the Musician became a real baptism of fire. In the process of work on the film, I came across almost all the main aspects of my profession, including working with actors and interacting with the crew. I had to pay attention to a lot of details that were completely invisible to the eye. Thanks to the Musician, I found new friends, got experience in a music film and felt myself one of the storytellers of the exciting story. I hope that everyone will like our work!
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Aleksei Borovikov
director
We really wanted to make the story sincere. Every time we were choosing where to put the camera, from what height to look at the character or the object in the frame, we tried to be as close to our Hero as possible. His growth, his point of view. For some shots, the lens literally became his eyes. It was important for us to feel, hear, and see what He feels, and then to share it with the audience.
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Alexandr Okovitski
director of photography
I joined the project when the script was still undergoing significant changes, but already at that time the story caught me and could not leave me unmoved. We had a careful planning, thanks to which we managed to implement most of the ideas. I have never been so detailed in the choice of locations and the creation of storyboard together with the director. I think he trusted me a lot. We wanted to do a good job. I felt a great responsibility and tried to maximally translate the director's intent with my own set of tools.
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Alexandr Okovitski
director of photography
We have found unusual solutions that made it possible to obtain low-budget shots with the needed mood. For example, to express impetuosity and alienation we used the high-speed shooting which was carried out from a supermarket trolley using an electronic stabilizer. And it was fun. We shot in busy places, and people were surprised with our insane actions. Just imagine a cinematographer with a gimbal in his hand sitting in a cart and moving at a frenzied pace (an editor pushes him) after a young actor who is running away with all his might.
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Alexandr Okovitski
director of photography
For us, it was a great success to be supported by one of the largest rental companies in Moscow, engaged in lighting equipment. There were scenes in which it was necessary to cover large spaces, creating the required atmosphere. Our crew is immensely grateful for the equipment provided to us. We have overcome all the stages including color correction and voice recording to create the film that we got. Cinema is always the result of collective work and we all contributed a part of our creativity.

Aleksei Borovikov
director
We are very grateful to all the partners of the Moscow Film School who supported our movie. The students of MFS are granted with special conditions and prices almost everywhere in the city. But the approach of the Bogdan and the Brigade company ("Bogdan i Brigada") have absolutely struck me. I have never seen the head of one of the largest Russian rentals personally sits at the same table with a young cinematographer to analyze the film scene by scene offering optimal equipment solutions. And he was not imposing something of his own but tried to understand what the cinematographer wants to do and why. This attitude causes respect. All that we asked for we were given absolutely free for a few days, which rescued our budget. We extremely appreciate it and look forward to working with Bogdan further.
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Margarita Zakamskaya
1st assistant director
One of the most pleasant impressions of the project was the coherence of the work of the film crew, people who did not work together before. I think that well-elaborated script and the fact that each department has offered its ideas, which were discussed and approved before the shooting, have greatly influenced, so we knew exactly what we wanted to do. The guys are real professionals in their business. I look forward to new projects and cooperation with them!
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The film was made by:
Aleksei Borovikov
Writer, director
Aleksei Zotov
Co-writer
Valentina Zhilina
Producer
Maria Enatskaya
Producer
Alexandr Okovitski
Director of Photography
Dmitry Noskov
Music Composer
Kirill Anton
Editor
Boris Karpov
Sound Director
Victoria Filmako
Production Designer
Kseniya Dementyeva
Makeup Artist
Margarita Zakamskaya
1st Assistant Director
Victoria Sid
2nd Assistant Director
Cast:

Matvey Morozov
Maksim Onischenko
Nina Rakova
Evgeny Danchevsky
Vladimir Malkov
Olga Blagaya
Vyacheslav Ippolitov
Tatiana Naumova
Petr Chernyaev
Petr Akulov
Darya Berkasheva
Eric Kholyavko-Grishin
Polina Petukhova