The Outcast / Otschepenets

Credits

cast

Julia Orekhova

Director
02/15/1976

Biography

Julia Orekhova graduated from St. Petersburg State University with a degree in journalism. She worked as a journalist and editor in St. Petersburg, and then in Moscow. She released two books: a collection of short stories “Solar” and the story “Green door at the end of the corridor”. Currently engaged in commercial photography. In 2019, she graduated from Dmitry Kupovy’s Free Cinema School, the course “Cinema Author”. During the training, she shot two short films according to her scripts (“Points” and “Not according to plan”). In 2020, she took a course at the Mitta Film School “Short Screenplay Script”.

Directors Statement

For me, this film is not only a story about external and internal freedom. I wanted to talk about how in one moment everything can change. Imagine: here you live, live, sure that you are happy that your life is right. You have a great, noble goal, as well as a clear idea of what is good and what is bad. And suddenly - bam. Everything turns upside down. And then you yourself have to choose: live by the old rules or open up to something new. It's like in the Matrix - there is a blue pill and a red pill - the choice is yours. It is believed that the open finale is not very good, but in “The outcast” everything should end just like that. My heroine saw everything. I got it. But what she decides for herself, what choice she makes, remains behind the scenes. The idea of "Rebuke" was born somehow very spontaneously. I remember how at the summer departure of our film school Ole Gotadze told her in general terms. I say: “I still do not know how we will remove it, but are you interested? Will you come to me as a producer? ” And she somehow very quickly agreed. The backbone of the crew almost immediately stuck together ... Anton Chereshnev (cameraman) long before the start of filming called me from some parties and shouted: “Julia, there is life in this scenario! Do not dare to leave him! I'm in". Well, I think it hurt. Need to shoot. The latest draft of “The outcast” script was written in September 2019. Then I was so proud of my fictional world! I came up with all kinds of chips, well, it seems that the inhabitants of the underground colony are all obsessed with sterility and cleanliness, they constantly rub their hands, they are afraid of germs, they have protective suits, respirators ... Then no one thought of any coronavirus. In February 2020, we shot the last scene, proceed to the installation, and then the world around us is changing rapidly. Everyone walks in masks, wipes their hands with an antiseptic, the streets are empty ... "Someday the planet will clean itself, and everyone will come to the surface to build a new world, but for now their task is to preserve the population" (quote from the film). Everything is like in a movie, only even more apocalyptic. For a long time they could not find an actor for the role of the Outcast. There were several castings. Perhaps the word "renegade" itself attracted a certain contingent - frank outcasts came. We have already shot two scenes, but the actor is still gone. When I was already in complete despair, Anton Figurovsky appeared. And it was a direct hit. That's exactly what I imagined my Outcast. I think if he refuses, then I'll drop everything! But, fortunately, everything came together.