2025 | Fiction | 7 min. | Russia | 6+
After burying his beloved cat, first-grader Yefim decides to take revenge on the shepherd dog named Darwin for its death, but an unarming force stands in the way of the avenger.
Directors Statement
Childhood is a time when the world seems boundless and happiness feels eternal. But one day comes the moment when a child first encounters something irreversible – an aspect of adult life that cannot be undone, only accepted. In our film, this is the death of a beloved pet cat, which becomes the protagonist's painful encounter with reality. However, "The First Lesson" is not merely a story about loss. It's a film about the choice the hero makes: between revenge and forgiveness. He learns that anger does not free one from grief; it only deepens it. True healing comes only through compassion. This is his first adult lesson: to understand that forgiveness is stronger than hatred. I wanted to show how fragile the world of childhood is, and how crucial it is to preserve its light within us, even when life teaches harsh lessons. The film is shot with warmth and nostalgia, yet without false idealization – because growing up is always intertwined with pain. And it depends solely on us whether this pain makes us cruel or, conversely, more human.
Director: Maksim Bobkov
Producer: Maksim Bobkov
Сast: Efim Simakov
