Director Pavel Lungin will release his new documentary film Four Lives of Pyotr Mamonov in cinemas on October 22, the distribution company handling the project announced. Lungin is currently serving as jury chairman at the Window to Europe film festival in Vyborg.
The announcement describes the documentary as a visual essay examining how four conflicting identities coexisted within Mamonov as a genius and hooligan, rock rebel, dramatic actor, and Orthodox hermit. Lungin previously introduced the Zvuki Mu lead singer to acting by directing him in Taxi Blues and The Island. Mamonov made his film debut in 1988 playing a surgeon in Rashid Nugmanov's film Needle alongside Viktor Tsoi, before starring in Taxi Blues, which won best director at the Cannes Film Festival in 1990.
Filming locations and contributors
Divided into four chapters, the film was shot across Moscow, the Moscow region, and Kaluga region. The project includes rare family photographs, past interviews, and recollections from contemporaries including Leningrad leader Sergei Shnurov, Honored Artist of Russia Yevgeny Margulis, actor Viktor Sukhorukov, musician Aleksandr F. Sklyar, actress Viktoriya Isakova, director Sergei Loban, and Mamonov's wife Olga Mamonova.
Lungin said the film turned out to be important because it addresses human fate and personal transformation through Mamonov's life. He added that the work touches on eternal struggles of a Russian person searching for meaning and preparing for inner change.
