INFO
|
Director |
Zhenia Kazankina |
|
|
Genre |
Fiction |
|
|
Duration |
13’ |
|
|
Year |
2026 |
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|
Nationality |
France, Italy, Germany |
SYNOPSYS
On the last evening before her departure, Vera is putting her small sister to bed. To hide the real reason of her leaving, she tells her a bedtime fairy tale instead. It’s the story of a city swallowed by an eternal night.
STILLS
CREDITS
|
Director |
Zhenia Kazankina |
|
|
Genre |
Fiction |
|
|
Duration |
13′ |
|
|
Nationality |
France, Italy, Germany |
|
|
Production |
Moderato *Eversince Il Varco Cinema 8Production Cattive Produzioni Oudeis C41 |
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|
Producers |
Clémence Crépin Neel Igor Courtecuisse Pavel Karykhalin Sergei Yahontov Lev Maslov Andrea Gatopoulos Marco Crispano Laura Catalano Silvio Giannini Marco Mingolla Stefano Schiavone |
|
|
Cast |
Vera Engalycheva Lera Yacenko |
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|
Writers |
Zhenia Kazankina Sofia Boteva Andrea Gatopoulos |
|
|
Cinematographer |
Luda Kuropyatnikova |
|
|
Set designer |
Aleksandra Smirnova |
|
|
Costume designer |
Sasha Nguyen |
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|
Hair and makeup artist |
Nastya Tenderova |
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|
Casting director |
Jenya Savelieva Zhenia Kazankina |
|
|
Music composer |
96 KBPS |
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|
Sound designer |
Dmitry Krupenya |
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|
VFX & CG artist |
Andrei Bulatchik |
|
|
Editor |
Zhenia Kazankina |
AWARDS AND SELECTIONS
2026
World Premiere
65. Semaine de la Critique - Cannes Film Festival
2026 - OSCAR ®, EFA ® QUALIFYING
Official Selection
34. Curtas Vila do Conde – International Film Festival
2026 - OSCAR ®, EFA ® QUALIFYING
Official Selection
49. Drama International Short Film Festival
ZHENIA KAZANKINA
BIOGRAPHY
Zhenia Kazankina (she/her) is a director, screenwriter, and editor, born in Moscow, Russia, in 1996. She graduated from the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) and is currently based in Rome, Italy. Her work explores themes of adaptation, attachment, and the search for belonging, often through the lens of feminine characters and perspectives. Unfolding in a collective dimension, her stories are rooted in metaphorical concepts and personal experience, and touched with elements of mystery and fable.
Her short films have screened at international festivals including Locarno Film Festival, Palm Springs ShortFest, ZINEBI, True/False, and many others. She is an alumna of Locarno Filmmakers Academy, Spring Academy, and Reykjavík Talent Lab.
FILMOGRAPHY
CITY OF OWLS
2026
NEW
2024
THREE SECRET CLUES OF LONGING
2023
EMPTY ROOMS
2023
CONTINUITY OF PARKS
2022
RIO
2019