Russian filmmaker Pavel Lungin has completed a documentary on musician Pyotr Mamonov and is preparing to shoot a feature film about poet Mikhail Lermontov in Moscow.
Lungin revealed details of both projects at the Window to Europe film festival in Vyborg, where he served as chairman of the feature film competition jury.
The upcoming biographical film, titled Lermontov, will star Russian rapper and poet Husky in the title role. Lungin confirmed that production will proceed despite the project securing only one-quarter of its required budget from state funding bodies.
Casting decisions and funding hurdles
Lungin explained that he chose Husky, whose real name is Dmitry Kuznetsov, because he sought an authentic poet rather than a professional actor performing a historical role. He noted that while he auditioned several handsome and talented actors, they merely acted as Lermontov, whereas Husky embodies the genuine presence of a poet.
The director previously considered casting social media personality Dania Milokhin for similar reasons, seeking non-actors who bring vivid energy to the screen. Lungin drew a parallel to his 1990 film Taxi Blues, where he cast rock musician Pyotr Mamonov after Mamonov disbanded his band Zvuki Mu.
Financial backing for Lermontov remains incomplete after state authorities approved only 25 percent of the requested funding. Lungin criticized the system of releasing grants in small installments, explaining that film production cannot be repeatedly halted and restarted.
He described negotiations with funding committees as speaking to an impersonal entity in secret meetings without clear criteria. Despite the financial shortage, Lungin said filming is scheduled to start in winter or spring, with shooting planned in Moscow and St. Petersburg as well as locations in the Caucasus.
Vision for Lermontov biopic
Lungin said his film will present an energetic and detailed portrait of Mikhail Lermontov rather than a quiet drama. Lermontov, a major figure of 19th-century Russian literature, authored the novel A Hero of Our Time before he was killed in a duel in 1841 at age 26.
The filmmaker contrasted his project with a recent Lermontov film by director Bakur Bakuradze that starred a stand-up comedian. Lungin praised Bakuradze's work as a subtle study of solitude, but noted that it focused on a single quiet moment without examining Lermontov's military combat, romantic rivalries, or duel.
Lungin said his version will portray the poet's intense life between ages 23 and 27. During those four years, Lermontov went to prison, was exiled, wrote classic poetry and prose, commanded a military reconnaissance company, fought in a red shirt so blood would not show, and learned the Tatar language to communicate with highlanders.
The director described Lermontov as a figure of dark genius and temptation, contrasting the poet's bitter moonlight aesthetic with the warm solar radiance of Alexander Pushkin. Lungin added that he has long felt a deep personal connection to Lermontov's literary works.
Documentary on Pyotr Mamonov
Lungin has also finished production on a new documentary titled Four Lives of Pyotr Mamonov. The project examines the late avant-garde musician and actor, who died in 2021 after a career spanning underground rock and acclaimed film roles.
Lungin described Mamonov as a figure suspended between sinfulness and deep religious faith who lived four distinct lives as a performer, prophet, and missionary. Mamonov starred as a devout monk in Lungin's 2006 drama The Island, which introduced the rock artist to a broader audience.
Reflecting on Mamonov's journey, Lungin recalled a statement by a member of the rock group Nikolay Kopernik regarding how American concert tours brought success tied directly to money. Lungin said that observation remained in his mind as a symbol of commercialized culture.
Critique of modern cinema and censorship
During his appearance in Vyborg, Lungin delivered a harsh assessment of contemporary film production, stating that financial pressures are more destructive than Soviet political censorship. He observed that Soviet censors banned controversial films but read every script carefully, whereas modern filmmakers face complete indifference if their projects do not generate immediate profits.
Lungin called for a resurgence of wild cinema, defining it as low-budget, rule-breaking filmmaking created by close friends in private apartments about real human experiences. He contrasted these works with expensive state-backed blockbusters based on Russian fairy tales and slick imitations of Western corporate dramas.
He identified his 1990 Cannes award-winning feature Taxi Blues as an early example of wild cinema, along with Vasily Pichul's 1988 film Little Vera and works by screenwriters Pyotr Lutsik and Aleksei Samoryadov. Lungin linked this narrative movement to the humanistic tradition of director Aleksei German rather than the spiritual aesthetic of Andrei Tarkovsky.
The director expressed concern that modern audiences have been alienated from independent films. He recalled that viewers once broke police lines to attend screenings of Taxi Blues and queued around blocks for Little Vera, adding that he hopes audiences will eventually return to realistic cinema.
Directing workshop at Moscow film school
Lungin is establishing a new experimental workshop titled Directing and Dramaturgy at the Higher Courses for Scriptwriters and Directors in Moscow. He will lead the course alongside his son, screenwriter and director Aleksandr Lungin, while continuing his standard directing workshop with Irina Volkova.
The course merges screenwriting and directing, which are traditionally taught separately in Russian film academies. Lungin asserted that directors who cannot write or adapt a screenplay remain mere executors, noting that most American filmmakers co-author their scripts.
The workshop has drawn applicants aged 35 to 50 who are changing careers, including a 45-year-old long-distance sea captain. Lungin explained that teaching mature students core dramatic principles provides them with practical skills to navigate the film industry.
Lungin, who won the Best Director prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1990 and directed films including Tycoon, Tsar, and Leaving Afghanistan, described himself and his veteran colleagues as old bison adapting to shifting industry values.
