Look Again. Jan 19 – 29, 2012 Park City, Utah

We are proud to welcome back Andrei Zvyagintsev (whose first feature, The Return, screened at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004) with his extraordinarily gripping new film, Elena—made with support from the Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Award.

Elena has a warm but passionless late-in-life marriage with wealthy Vladimir, to whom she is more caretaker than spouse. Each has grown children from previous relationships, but Vladimir is dedicated to his distant, spoiled daughter and resents having to provide financial aid to Elena’s hapless, unemployed son and his struggling family. As Vladimir’s health declines, and he makes concrete plans to leave everything to his own offspring, Elena must decide swiftly between her loyalty to her husband and her allegiance to her own flesh and blood.

Part domestic thriller, part morality play, all a comment on contemporary Russian class warfare, Elena delivers an intense and haunting experience, offering keen insight into human nature. Throughout, the chilling tension is sustained and heightened by Philip Glass’s striking music and Zvyagintsev’s stark visual style.
- H.Z.

Clemence Taillandier
clemence@zeitgeistfilms.com
Elena
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Andrei Zvyagintsev was born in Siberia and graduated from the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts (GITIS). In 2000 he made his directorial debut with three episodes for REN TV’s The Black Room. Zyvagintsev’s first film, Vozvrashchenie (The Return), received the Golden Lion at the 2003 Venice Film Festival, and Venice’s CinemAvvenire Award for best first film. His second film, Izgnanie (The Banishment), premiered at the 2007 Cannes International Film Festival.