Best Director
Chekhov.Offstage
A hard-of-hearing guide conducts a personal tour of the backstage of the legendary Chekhov Moscow Art Theatre for a deaf teenager boy. The guide’s mission is to awaken the boy’s creative powers and to show that the theatrical community can offer something to people like him.
Anna Turchaninova
Director
Director, screenwriter. Graduated from VGIK (scenario faculty). Worked on TV as head of the promo department, program writer. She conducted her own author's contest for children. She shot puppet video performances for the deaf.
“Chekhov.Offstage” is a documentary or, in a way, a TV movie - a walk through the backstage of Moscow's Moscow Art Theatre. The heroes, two hearingimpaired young men, in a relaxed and friendly manner, while walking, tell each other and the camera interesting facts about the theater, its foundation, history and so on. The fulcrum for “Chekhov.Offstage” becomes the issue of inclusiveness, and, if expanded, the place of the hearing impaired in the world.
From a film critic's point of view, what is most interesting about this movie is the sign language the characters use to communicate with each other. This language is native to cinema; for over a hundred years we have been using signs and gestures to convey meaning. The theater should have shuddered at the sight of a movie camera, because it can translate any performance into a set of gestures. However, the movie “Chekhov.Offstage” is organized according to television laws, which means that the specifics of cinema and its language were not taken into account during filming.
At the same time, taking a step back from my profession, I will say that we can see a high level of preparation in general, a large budget, first-class technical equipment and complex editing effects. The script is concisely and meaningfully written, the general logic of the plot is observed. The characters of the movie perfectly cope with the tasks as sign language speakers, they are organic to the screen action and the specificity of their lines does not detract from their initial charm.
The author of the movie, Anna Turchaninova, touches upon really important social themes that have almost no place in everyday life. And cinema can certainly serve to enlighten, educate and solve social issues of any magnitude. “Chekhov.Offstage” should travel to festivals, play on TV, gain record views on video hosting sites and be discussed in various circles. Such a film should be accompanied by discussions about the possibilities of the hearing impaired, meetings with various inclusive organizations and so on. I hope that Anna Turchaninova will continue her mission and that “Chekhov.Offstage” will not be the limit.
From a film critic's point of view, what is most interesting about this movie is the sign language the characters use to communicate with each other. This language is native to cinema; for over a hundred years we have been using signs and gestures to convey meaning. The theater should have shuddered at the sight of a movie camera, because it can translate any performance into a set of gestures. However, the movie “Chekhov.Offstage” is organized according to television laws, which means that the specifics of cinema and its language were not taken into account during filming.
At the same time, taking a step back from my profession, I will say that we can see a high level of preparation in general, a large budget, first-class technical equipment and complex editing effects. The script is concisely and meaningfully written, the general logic of the plot is observed. The characters of the movie perfectly cope with the tasks as sign language speakers, they are organic to the screen action and the specificity of their lines does not detract from their initial charm.
The author of the movie, Anna Turchaninova, touches upon really important social themes that have almost no place in everyday life. And cinema can certainly serve to enlighten, educate and solve social issues of any magnitude. “Chekhov.Offstage” should travel to festivals, play on TV, gain record views on video hosting sites and be discussed in various circles. Such a film should be accompanied by discussions about the possibilities of the hearing impaired, meetings with various inclusive organizations and so on. I hope that Anna Turchaninova will continue her mission and that “Chekhov.Offstage” will not be the limit.