From the Life of the Planets

From the Life of the Planets, a musical performance by Oleg Nesterov and the Megapolis band
Gennady Shpalikov / Vladimir Motyl / Andrei Smirnov / Vladimir Kitaisky
Directed by Denis Azarov
Designed by Olga Nikitina
Electronic noise interludes by Dmitry Garin (Hyperboloid Records)

The production of From the Life of the Planets is a musical work dedicated to some unfinished films of the 1960s, to that short era in cinema and in the life of Russia, which we call the "Thaw," a period marked by a sudden breath of freedom. A new cinema was then born, breakthrough following breakthrough. Awards at Cannes alternated with prizes in Venice, it was a true "golden era" for Russian cinema... But it all ended suddenly, freedom turning into a lack of freedom: at Mosfilm alone 12 films were closed down in the fall of 1963, and by the end of 1968, after the repressions following the Prague Spring, the field of new cinema turned into a grand cemetery of unfinished films.

Four unmade films – The Berth and Jump-Hop, the Ceiling Flopped by Gennady Shpalikov, Seven Unclean Pairs by Vladimir Motyl, and Premonition by Andrei Smirnov – become the heroes of this performance staged by director Denis Azarov. From the Life of the Planets is presented as live music and storytelling. On stage Oleg Nesterov talks about the films that were to be shot by the most talented Soviet filmmakers of the "Thaw" period, while the group Megapolis plays imaginary soundtracks to them. From the Life of the Planets is a story about great unrealized plans, and their life after death.