Synopsis: Captain Fyodor Volkonogov, a well-respected and obedient USSR law enforcer, witnesses his peers being suspiciously questioned. Sensing his turn is approaching, he escapes and is soon on the run, hunted by his former colleagues. Vulnerable and hopeless, Fyodor comes to realize what he had been part of. Suddenly he gets a message from hell: after death he will be sentenced to eternal torments. The only way to avoid it is to repent and to find at least one person who will give him forgiveness. But time is running out and the manhunt is closing in on him…

Cast: Yuriy Borisov (Compartment Number 6, Petrov’s Flu), Nikita Kukushkin, Timofey Tribuntsev (Petrov’s Flu), Aleksandr Yatsenko, Vikotriya Tolstoganova.

2021 / Drama / Russia, France, Estonia / 122 min / Russian / In Venice Competition

Produced by Place of Power, Look Film, Homeless Bob Production, KinoVista.

By the directors of Anna Karenina (Netflix TV Series), The Man Who Surprised Everyone (Best Actress Venice Orizzonti 2018), Intimate Parts / Editing by François Gédigier (Synonyms, On The Road, Yves Saint Laurent).

“This is a film to revel in, and to argue about - and for some, no doubt, to recoil from - but it’s one of the most original works of the year”

— Screendaily

“Aleksey Chupov and Natasha Merkulova’s film is an impressively deadpan thriller about a security agent on a mission to redeem himself”

— The Guardian

“With impressive production value from start to finish, the phantasmagoria of Captain Volkonogov Escaped is entirely convincing, but what sells it is the moving performance from Borisov, as well as the arresting Tribuntsev”

— The Moveable Fest

“An inventive and disturbing Venice Film Festival competition entry from Russian writer-directors Natasha Merkulova and Aleksey Chupov”

— Deadline

“Captain Volkonogov Escaped is a highly accomplished piece of work, from the script to the acting to the visuals, but so harrowing and horrific”

— The Upcoming

“As masterfully engrossing as it’s philosophically intricate”

— The Playlist