I promise / Я обещаю

Credits

cast

Maria Romanova

Director

Biography

Masha Romanova is a film director and a graduate of the A.E. Kaurykh workshop (VGIK). Her dream of cinema emerged during her high school years in VGIK’s specialized classes, but her professional journey began with a honors degree from the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics and a career in entrepreneurship.Her desire for self-expression through art eventually led her back to VGIK for the "Digital Film Directing" course. Her film "I Promise" is her debut work, exploring the sensitive topics of domestic violence and psychological manipulation.

Directors Statement

My film is a reflection on how the purest feelings can become instruments of destruction when one loses touch with reality. It is a story about the trap of idealization, where dreams of love and happiness eclipse the truth, blinding a person to a genuine threat. At the heart of the narrative is a woman who makes choices based not on facts, but on her idealized vision of how life 'should be.' She sincerely believes that love can heal any cruelty, putting on the proverbial 'rose-colored glasses' that ultimately fail to protect her, leading instead to tragedy. It was vital for me to demonstrate that self-deception is not a harmless habit, but a dangerous weapon. By the end of the film, the protagonist's metaphorical glasses do not simply break—they pierce her, causing unbearable pain and costing her her life. This serves as a symbol of how illusions, when not grounded in awareness, can collapse onto a person with fatal weight. I want this film to serve as a reminder: while dreaming is important, seeing the world as it truly is is vital for survival. The entire visual language of the film is built on the contrast between the protagonist’s 'perfect' world and the brutal reality she eventually faces. I want the audience to feel the destructive power of this illusion and to reflect on how often we ourselves refuse to see the truth until it is too late.