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Taisia Igumentseva, director of the film "Bite the Dust" (Special Screenings, Cannes 2013)
What is your new film about?
In one tiny-tiny village, everyone is living happily ever after until they learn about the end of the world.
The Russian title is "Slip the Cable" after the nautical term, but the action takes place on land...
The location is a village surrounded by water. Our title has two meanings: first, it's a maritime term when a vessel needs to be unmoored, but there's no time to weigh anchor;
Second, it's an idiom meaning "to die." Our film is about the global end of the world and the small end of the world that takes place in the heart of every hero
Did you see von Trier's "Melancholia" and what did you think of his approach?
I saw it, but in making a movie about the end of the world I didn't try to study the context inside out. It was more about creating something of my own.
Does it feature the now customary gray and hopeless depiction of Russia's interior?
Our village is completely unlike the typical Russian backwater — everything here is joyful and self-sufficient. We tried to move the village away from the standard notion of Russian subculture and relocate the story to a more make-believe level, almost like a fairy tale.
So it's meant to be utopia? Sort of...
Do comedies go down well in Cannes in your view?
Last year we got a good reception. The European viewer found it impossible to remain indifferent. As for this year, it's too early to say, but it should be remembered that...
Humor is specific — everyone has their own preferences. I hope that the right kind of audience will warm to it, although it's hard to predict anything for sure.
Are you not afraid of going to Cannes for a second year in a row and failing to live up to expectations?
It's never scary — after all, you're moving towards becoming a great cinematographer... The main thing is to move upwards.
So you're feeling positive?
Sure thing! There's no other way.