Directed by:
Feliks MikhaylovScreenplay:
Feliks MikhaylovCinematography:
Gleb TeleshovComposer:
Andrey DanilkoCast:
Ingeborga Dapkunaite, Yevgeniya Dobrovolskaya, Aleksey Klimushkin, Ville Haapasalo, Рената Литвинова, Danila Kozlovsky, Mariya Shalaeva, Nikolay Efremov (more)Plots(1)
Rosa, Lusya, Gelya, Lara and Fira are the names of five star Moscow transvestites – seen here through the eyes of a journalist who has come to interview them for a magazine.
Rosa's real name is Robert. He is the club's owner – a fortyish, ex-army man who was once married and fathered a child. His marriage broke up when his wife had to be admitted to a psychiatric home. He hasn't seen or heard from her in eleven years – but then she walks into his club.
Lusya grew up as Dmitri in a tiny village in the sticks. He'd always dreamed of making it big in Moscow but first had to eke out a living doing all manner of jobs before discovering his talent as a dancer and performer. But now he longs to return to a simple life in the country.
Gelya was still known as Gennady when he once wrote a letter to Madonna at the age of eight. His letter was never answered. When he was ten his mother sent him to dancing school – for which he was mercilessly teased at school and called 'girl'. Gennady's mother was a seamstress. He later took great pleasure in taking his revenge by climbing into her gowns and using them to drive the worst of his deriders out of their minds at a party.
Lara began performing as a transvestite in the seventies. One of the members of the audience was a Communist functionary, who, it transpired, was secretly a bird of the same feather. Even as a child Fira was prone to shooting off his mouth. He began as a comic and later moved into transvestism. He's been in love so often, but has now been diagnosed HIV-positive ...
(Berlinale)
Cast
Ingeborga Dapkunaite
Soviet Union
Best movies:
Burnt by the Sun (1994)
Prime Suspect 6 (2003) (TV movie)
Wallander (2008) (series)
Yevgeniya Dobrovolskaya
Soviet Union
Best movies:
Mars (2004)
The Irony of Fate 2 (2007)
Moonzund (1987)
Aleksey Klimushkin
Soviet Union
Ville Haapasalo
Finland
Best movies:
Gibel imperii (2005) (series)
The Cuckoo (2002)
Tri muškeťora (2013)
Рената Литвинова
Soviet Union
Best movies:
Tri istorii (1997)
Granica. Tajožnyj roman (2001) (series)
About Love (2015)
Danila Kozlovsky
Soviet Union
Best movies:
Friday (2016)
Coach (2018)
Legenda 17 (2013)
Mariya Shalaeva
Soviet Union
Best movies:
Mamy (2012)
No borders (2015)
Demons (2014) (series)
Nikolay Efremov
Soviet Union
Best movies:
Soulless (2012)
The Book of Masters (2009)
The Darkest Hour (2011)
Andrey Rudenskiy
Soviet Union
Best movies:
Admiral (2009) (series)
The Turkish Gambit (2005)
Wolfhound (2006)
Ivan Nikolaev
Best movies:
Hipsters (2008)
Rusalka (2007)
S.S.D. (Horror Stories of a Soviet Childhood) (2008)
Kirill Nagiev
Soviet Union
Best movies:
Son of a Rich (2019)
Tekst (2019)
Сабина Ахмедова
Soviet Union
Best movies:
Buy Me (2018)
High Security Vacation (2009)
The Earthquake (2016)
Aleksandr Mokhov
Soviet Union
Best movies:
The Barber of Siberia (1998)
The Grey Wolves (1993)
Poběg (2005)
Roman Ladnev
Soviet Union
Darya Kalmykova
Soviet Union
Viktor Tsekalo
Soviet Union
Best movies:
Bender: The Beginning (2021)
Andrey Sviridov
Soviet Union
Maksim Zausalin
Soviet Union
Best movies:
SuperBobrovy (2016)
Moths (2013) (series)
Razvědčiki: Poslednij boj (2008) (series)
Ирина Соколова
Soviet Union
Best movies:
Headhunters (2011)
The Castle (1994)
The Days of Eclipse (1988)