Venice’s Special Jury Prize Winner ‘Dear Comrades!’ Sells to Southern Europe (EXCLUSIVE)

Venice’s Special Jury Prize-winning “Dear Comrades!,” a Russian historical drama directed by Andrei Konchalovsky, has been sold by Films Boutique to Southern Europe.

“Dear Comrades!” was acquired for Italy by Paolo Del Brocco at Rai Cinema and for Spain by the Barcelona-based distributor Vercine.

The film, which sheds light on the Novocherkassk massacre, was produced, co-written (with Elena Kiseleva) and directed by Konchalovsky, a revered and now veteran Russian auteur who is best-known for directing “Runaway Train,” “Duet For One” and “House Of Fools.”

Shot in black and white, the politically-minded film retells the tragic events of 1962, when the Soviet Union military opened fire on workers from a construction plant who were staging one of the first street protests in Soviet Russia. The movie stars Julia Vysotskaya (”Paradise”).

“Dear Comrades!” world premiered in main competition at the Lido to strong reviews and went on to win the Special Jury Prize. Cate Blanchett presided this year’s jury.

Films Boutique is in talks with buyers in many territories and has already sold the film to Benelux (Cherry Pickers), the Czech Republic and Slovakia (Film Europe), Greece (Weird Wave), Portugal (Legendmain Filmes), ex-Yugoslavia (MCF Megacom), the Baltics (A-One Films Baltic), Bulgaria (Beta Film), and Scandinavia (Angel Films). Olesya Gidrat and Alisher Usmano produced the film with Konchalovsky.

Films Boutique is at San Sebastian with Leonardo Medel’s “La Veronica,” set to play in the Horizontes Latinos section. The movie revolves around Veronica, a model who is married to an international football star and is obsessed with social media. Her world falls apart when she becomes the prime suspect in a murder investigation and sees her marriage on the verge of breakdown.