This enchanting, new Russian film (2017, 95 minutes), is loosely based on the biography of Daniil Kharms, born Daniil Yuvatchov in St. Petersburg in 1905.  Early on, he adopted the pseudonym Kharms, and was to become a renowned Russian avant-garde, surrealist author, famous also for his children’s books.  

His character is at the heart of the film:  He considers himself a genius but publishers refuse to print his works. He loves women but they don’t always understand him.  He is constantly without money and out of touch with reality.  An elegant fop and a creative genius, his life parallels the burst of avant-garde activity of the USSR in the 1920s.  Arrested in 1931 as a member of “a group of anti-Soviet children’s writers”, he survived the worst of the Stalin’s terror, only to be arrested again in 1941 when, to avoid execution, he feigned insanity. 

After the screening, a brief discussion with the film’s director Ivan Bolotnikov took place. Also on hand for the discussion was Polish actor Wojciech Urbanski who plays Kharms. 

This event was part of the EBRD Cultural Programme and had been made possible by the Russian Film Week and Golden Unicorn Awards.