EMPIRE V: Banned From Russia, Catch The Official Trailer For Victor Ginzburg’s New Fantasia-Bound Sci-Fi Horror Thriller
Firstly premiering on Deadline this week, we have a trailer now running for Russian-set sci-fi horror thriller, Empire V. The film was announced in the first wave back in May for this summer’s 27th installment of Fantasia Festival which launches on July 20.
Empire V was adopted for the screen by filmmaker Victor Ginzburg, and based on Victor Pelevin’s 2006 publication. Previously set to release in Russia last year from Sony, the film was pulled by the Kremelin following the country’s war on Ukraine, just one week ahead of its scheduled release.
Ensuingly, principal cast member, actor and recording artist Miron Yanovich Fyodorov (a.k.a. Oxxxymiron) was labeled a “foreign agent” by the Kremelin for his anti-war stances. He is joined by actors Pavel Tabakov, Taya Radchenko, Miron Fedorov and Vera Alentova.
Empire V is billed as “a social parody of modern Russian society being controlled by vampires.” It centers on Rama (Tabakov), a 19-year-old Moscow nobody who is turned into a vampire, and becomes part of an elite and powerful echelon of society that has controlled humanity since time immemorial.
“For me, Empire V was an opportunity to experiment in the vampire genre but within a uniquely challenging narrative structure: telling a post-modern Moscow love story against the backdrop of a ruthless satire of modern civilization while retaining Pelevin’s brutal eye for the ironies of Russian society. Of course, there was the opportunity to design and create never before seen worlds and creatures,” said Ginzburg. “For the first time in my life, when I was confronted with the ugly specter of state censorship, it was a heartbreaking feeling for me and for all the people who put years of work and love into this film. The same goes for literally millions of Russian fans that have been waiting for the release, many of whom helped crowdfund this truly independent film.”
Empire V is produced by Heartland Films/USA and Kvadrat/Russia, and Andrey Trubitsyn, Maria Kapralova, Alexei Tylevich and James Steele.
Check out the trailer below!
Native New Yorker. Been writing for a long time now, and I enjoy what I do. Be nice to me!
No replies yet
Loading new replies...
Join the full discussion at the PopGeeks.com - Books, Film, Video Games, Animation Discussion →