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How I Ended This Summer

How I Ended This Summer

Kak ya provel etim letom

Alexei Popogrebsky

  • Country: Russia
  • Year: 2010
  • Language: Russian
  • Producer: Roman Borisevich, Alexander Kushaev
  •  
  • Screenplay: Alexei Popogrebsky
  • Runtime: 124
  • Programmes:

Two meteorologists are isolated on an artic island. When the two-way radio transmits some bad news that requires a middleman, it’s up to the young intern to inform his veteran colleague. Only problem is, he never seems to find the right time.

Crime & Thriller Environment Russia

screening times

    • Friday September 10
    • 5:30:00 PM
    • AMC 3
    • Sunday September 12
    • 2:45:00 PM
    • VARSITY 7
    • Saturday September 18
    • 9:30:00 AM
    • SCOTIABANK THEATRE 11

Note: indicates Premium Screening.

official description

At times feeling more like a natural phenomenon than a man-made movie, How I Ended This Summer is ruled by the changeable weather. An exploration of human fragility in the frigid north, director Alexei Popogrebsky’s latest feature shows us that natural elements may not be the biggest threat to human life in the frozen tundra of northeastern Siberia. This blustery, suspenseful film evokes all the majesty and danger of an unreliable landscape with a fascinating history.

Everything is quiet on the arctic island of Chukotka until the arrival of a mysterious message. Meteorological technician Sergei (Sergei Puskepalis) is busy taking his usual radioactive readings, when inexperienced intern Pavel receives shocking news on his two-way radio. They had hoped to hear from the rescue ship intended to take Sergei home and enable Pavel, who longs for a break from notating the bleak winter sky, to embark on some semblance of a real adventure. But now the temperature is the last thing on Pavel’s mind.

It rests on his shoulders to pass the contents of this message on to Sergei, but for one reason or another – not the least of which is his own bewilderment and denial – the right opportunity never presents itself. Now Pavel no longer has trouble occupying his time. His days are spent devising tricks to keep Sergei from knowing the truth.

Popogrebsky was inspired to write the film by the diaries of N.V. Pinegin, who accompanied Russian explorer Georgio J. Sedov on his ill-fated attempt to reach the North Pole in 1912. The diaries provided a window into the mind of a man trapped in a world of ice. With the help of Pavel Kostomarov’s artfully textured cinematography, the frozen wasteland takes on a life of its own, threatening to swallow Pavel’s sanity unless the rescue mission gets there first. Too bad their scheduled salvation is postponed for another year.

Dimitri Eipides

director bio

AlexeiPopogrebsky was born in Moscow and graduated with a degree in psychology fromMoscow University. He made his first short, TrickyFrog, a documentary co-directed with Boris Khlebnikov, in 1997. The pair wenton to co-direct the feature Koktebel(03), which screened at the Festival. Since then, Popogrebsky has directed thefeatures Simple Things (07) and HowI Ended This Summer (10).

full credits

Principal Cast: Grigory Dobrygin, Sergei Puskepalis
Producer: Roman Borisevich, Alexander Kushaev
Cinematographer: Pavel Kostomarov
Editor: Ivan Lebedev
Sound: Vladimir Golovnitski
Music: Dmitry Katkhanov
Production Designer: Gennady Popov

Canadian Distributor: Film Movement  
International Sales Agent: Bavaria Film International
Production Company: KOKTEBEL Film Company
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