Brutus
Short narrative film «Brutus»
2016
Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Romania, USA
Drama, history, war
35 minutes
Plot:

War and racist laws separate a German shepherd Brutus and his beloved mistress. Brutus is then taken from an animal shelter to a concentration camp to be a watchdog, and after being trained and manipulated this harmless pet gets turned into a ruthless killer dog.


Filming:

The film is based on a story by Ludvik Ashkenazy. The filming took place in Russia, Romania and Belarus. The international team included specialists from Russia, Israel, USA, Romania and Belarus. Film was made with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.


Cast and crew:
  • Directed by: Konstantin Fam
  • Written by: Konstantin Fam, Sergey Rakhlin, Ludvik Ashkenazy (story by), Sasha Klein (idea)
  • Produced by: Konstantin Fam, Oleg Stepchenko, Alexey A. Petrukhin
  • Executive producers: Yan Fisher Romanovsky, Vyacheslav Chernyavsky
  • Co-producers: Egor Odintsov, Uriy Igrusha, Iuliana Tarnovarchi, Gabi Ilioiu, Loreto Rodríguez Modroño
  • Line Producer: Gabi Ilioiu
  • Associate Producer: Sasha Klein
  • Cinematography by: Giora Bejach
  • Music by: Egor Romanenko
  • Art Direction by: Adi Cristea, Konstantin Fam
  • Edited by: Petr Zelenov, Yulia Frolova, Igor Malakhov, Phil Lee
  • Cast: Oksana Fandera, Filipp Yankovsky, Vladimir Koshevoy, Anna Churina, Marta Drozdova, Ion Grosu
Recognition:

The world premiere of the film Brutus was held as part of the Short Film Competition of the 38th Moscow International Film Festival (MIFF). The film was a contender for the Academy Award in the category of Live Action Short Film for 2016, and was also nominated for the Golden Eagle Award in the category of Best Short Film for 2016.


Awards:
  • Golden Eagle Award, 2016 (Russia) – Nominee
  • The Nevada International Film Festival, 2016 (USA) – Experimental Film Competition, Platinum Reel Award Winner
  • 1st Sochi International Film Festival and Awards, 2016 (Russia) – Special Prize
  • Hong Kong World International Film Festival, 2016 (Hong Kong) – Best Actress
  • Best Shorts Competition, 2016 (USA) – Best Jewish film
  • Fathers and Sons Film Festival, 2017 (Russia) – Best Director, Best Cast
  • Scandinavian International Film Festival, 2017 (Finland) – Best mid-long film
  • 3rd Moscow Jewish Film Festival, 2017 (Russia) – Yakov Kaller Award for The Best Russian Jewish Film of 2018
Participation:
  • 38th Moscow International Film Festival, 2016 (Russia)
  • International Filmmaker Festival of World Cinema, 2016 (UK)
  • Sedona Film Festival, 2016 (USA)
  • PUFF Film Festival, 2016 (Hong Kong)
  • New Haven International Film Festival, 2017 (USA)
  • Marfa Film Festival, 2017 (USA)
  • Macon Film Festival, 2017 (USA)
  • Riverside International Film Festival, 2017 (USA)
  • Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival, 2017 (USA)
Official trailer: