St. Petersburg-Movie: Roses, Thorns and Dreams

[Tatjana]

ROSES, THORNS AND DREAMS -
The Veteran Performers of St. Petersburg

by Tatiana Yankina & Ralf Brings, documentary film, 75 min.
ARTS / OPERA / THEATRE / MUSIC / HISTORY

The "House of Veteran Stage Performers" in St. Petersburg has by now for more than one hundred years been the final domicile
for stage performers who have devoted their entire lives to the theatre. Currently there are 95 men and women living here: actors,
opera singer, dancers, painters and directors from all parts of the erstwhile Soviet Union; here they create their own theatre world
and continue to play out their roles – both in everyday life as well as on their own in–house stage. In competition with his artiste
colleagues, each of them strives to stand once again in the glare of the limelight. Death, as they know only too well, will only come
when they cease to perform. For four years the cineastes TatianaYankina and Ralf Brings have been visiting the artistes‘ old peoples‘
home on the banks of the Neva. Their film shows how the stage veterans defy, with pathos, vanity and a sense of humour, but also
with a discipline of iron, the loss of their abilities and of their stength. The scurrilous everyday occurrences in these stately surroundings
produce an equilibrium between comedy and melancholy and lovingly document the utter madness of an ensemble of eccentrics and divas.


Info:
The St. Petersburg Times: Inspired by the retired
http://www.sptimes.ru/story/2662

More information:
http://www.rosen-dornen-und-traeume.agdok.de
fimpool@gmx.de
Tatiana