The Frenchman

In our space, there will be a screening of Andrei Smirnov's historical drama about the beginning of the Khrushchev Thaw in the USSR. The film is dedicated to the memory of Alexander Ginzburg, a Soviet dissident and one of the ideologists of samizdat.

In 1957, a French student, Pierre Durand, comes to Moscow for an internship at Moscow State University. There, he meets Bolshoi Theatre ballerina Kira Galkina and photographer Valery Uspensky. Through these connections, Pierre immerses himself in Moscow's cultural life, both official and underground. In just one year in Moscow, Pierre lives a life entirely different from anything he has known. However, his internship and exploration of Soviet life are not his only goals. Pierre is searching for his father, a White Army officer named Tatishchev, who was arrested in the late 1930s.

After the screening, we will discuss the artistic and historical context of the film.