2026 | Fiction | 24 min. | Russia
n a remote Russian village, a young paramedic Alisa has just married and is making plans for the future. But everything changes when her husband Anton is called up to serve in the army. Fearing she might lose him, Alisa is willing to do anything to keep him at home — but Anton's friends push him towards a different path, and now the choice is hers.
Directors Statement
For me, the starting point of any film is a person. Their personality in unique circumstances or an unresolved internal conflict. Observing real people gives us much more scope for work than imagination. In interpersonal conflicts, we always think only ourselves are right. But if we look at the situation from the other person's perspective, they're also right. So how do we resolve it? I believe the decision rests with each viewer, based on their beliefs and values. Therefore, it's important to me to make films that touch everyone, everyone who is right in their own way and lives with their truth. This is the great strength of cinema — it has many faces. ‘Grip’ is based on a true story that happened to my friends in a remote provincial town. Global events shook the locals and forced everyone to choose their future path in life. Pre-production and production of the film were like a summer trip to the river with friends. We filmed at my country house in the Tver region on the banks of the Volga. We rose at dawn and went to bed in the early morning. We dined together at a large table, spent hours editing the filming plan, went to bed together, and whispered before sleeping. I'm currently working on two feature-length scripts in different genres: a family drama about fathers and sons and an experimental thriller about the place of the little man in modern society. My main goal in my films is to explore and process the human experience: what it's like to LIVE.
Directors: Nastya Ivashchenko and Nastya Ivashchenko
Producers: Alexander Pantykin, Maria Khaydina, Alexander Pantykin and Maria Khaydina
Сast: Alisa Zabrodina, Artyom Balakhonov, Natalya Batrak, Maksim Kuznetsov, Alisa Zabrodina, Artyom Balakhonov, Natalya Batrak and Maksim Kuznetsov
