Mees, kes üllatas kõiki / The Man Who Surprised Everyone
Egor, a forest ranger in Siberia, finds out he has terminal cancer. He accepts his prognosis and prepares for the inevitable. His wife (Natalia Kudryashova), who is expecting another child, begs him to visit a shaman, who relates a Russian folktale about a creature who fooled fate by disguising itself. Therefore, Egor decides to disguise himself and dress as a woman. Dressing as a woman in a Siberian village is an audacious move that is way beyond the comprehension of the locals, and worst of all, his son and wife, who are mortified. Does he want to fool death? Will being ostracized help him accept death, or will he prevail? The more people react to him, the more he persists.
Awards
Venice International Film Festival, Italy / Orizzonti Award for Best Actress
El Gouna IFF, Egypt / Special Jury Prize
Pingyao IFF, China / Crouching Tiger Audience Award
Bordeaux Independent IFF, France / Prix Erasmus+, Grand Jury’ Special Mention
Honfleur Russian Film Festival / Grand Prix de la Ville de Honfleur Meilleur Film, Best Actor, Best actress
Zinegoak IFF, Spain / Best Feature Film, Best Secondary Performance
Luxembourg City Film Festival, Luxembourg / Grand Prix Special Mention
IFF Uruguay Cinemateca Uruguaya, Uruguay / Best Director Award ex-aequo
OUTShine, USA / Honorable Mention Best Narrative Feature
Crossing Europe Filmfestival Linz, Austria / Best Fiction Award
Al Este Lima, Peru / Jury Award for Best Fiction Film
Fünf Seen Festival, Germany / The Perspective Young Cinema Award
Raindance IFF, UK / Best Performance Award
Kinenova IFF Art Cinema Skopje, North Macedonia / Best Screenplay
Al Este Lima, Argentina / Jury’s prize
Russian Film Academy Awards, Russia / Best Male Role, Best Supporting Male Role
“The White Elephant” Award by the Guilt of Film Experts and Critics, Russia / Best Male Role
“Golden Arch. East-West” International Film Award, Russia / Best Male Role, Best Female Role, Best Script
“Kinonews-2019″ Award, Russia / Best Male Role
“Male Role” Film Fetival n.a. Ivan Mozjukhin, Russia / Grand Prix (Evgeny Tsyganov)
Cultural Endowment of Estonia / Best Cinematography (Mart Taniel)
Russian Film Clubs Association Award / Best Fiction Film 2018
MEES, KES ÜLLATAS KÕIKI / The Man Who Surprised Everyone
Director: Aleksey Chupov, Natasha Merkulova
Genre: comedy
Production country: Russia | Estonia | France
Domestic release: 2018
Crew:
Producer: Ekaterina Filippova
Co-producers: Katrin Kissa, Guillaume de Seille, Aleksandr Rodnjanskij
Cinematographer: Mart Taniel
Scriptwriters: Natalya Merkulova, Aleksei Tšupov
Production designer: Sergei Avstrievskih
Costume designer: Anna Bartuli
Editor: Vadim Krasnitskij
Sound designers: Vladimir Prjamov, Aleksandr Fedenyov, Stas Kretškov
Main cast:
Evgeniy Tsyganov / Natalya Kudryashova / Yuriy Kuznetsov / Popov / Pavel Maykov / Aleksey Filimonov / Elena Voronchikhina / Maksim Vitorgan
