Over 400 extras are involved in the Vitebsk filming of Alexander Mitta's film about Chagall

On September 11, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Over 400 extras are involved in the Vitebsk filming of Alexander Mitta's film about Chagall. The director himself told journalists about this today, according to a BELTA correspondent. The People's Artist of the Russian Federation began shooting the feature film "Miracle about Chagall" a few days ago and has finally broken his vow of silence. "There is a wonderful atmosphere on the set. The people involved in the filming are a gift of fate. I could not have imagined such cooperation with the extras. Everything is done with soul. It's quite fun and interesting," said the eminent director. Journalists were convinced of the business-like yet cheerful atmosphere on the set themselves while waiting to meet the director on Suvorov Street, where scenes of a demonstration in 1918 in honor of the anniversary of the October Revolution are being filmed. Stern shouts from the film crew members at onlookers, who had gathered around the site and kept trying to get into the frame, were replaced by pleased exclamations from the director to the extras who had successfully played a brief episode, and by stormy applause from the actors themselves for it. It was impossible to watch without a smile a respectable gentleman in a boater hat with a cane, drinking coffee from a plastic cup during a break in filming, or an old rabbi in a worn frock coat, vehemently discussing something on his mobile phone. Red Army soldiers with rifles, on foot and on horseback, appeared here and there, while young ladies of model appearance in short skirts and sky-high heels strolled, either attracting the attention of the Red Army soldiers or hoping to be noticed by the famous director and invited to play at least the role of Bella Chagall's friend. And what about the revolutionary slogans and posters hiding the high-tech signs of modern shops: "The Vitebsk proletariat shakes hands with the proletarians of the whole world," "On the rotten ruins of capitalism, we will build the temple of communism," "Make way for the working people. Chain, axe and hammer - gods of revolution."

Continuing the conversation with journalists, Alexander Mitta once again emphasized the skill of the extras: "People just need to be given instructions, and they will figure out how to act themselves." And there is nothing surprising in this. After all, among these performers are professional actors from the Yanka Kupala National Academic Theatre, and amateur actors from the "Koleso" (Wheel) youth theatre of the "Vitebsk" Cultural Centre, participants of the "Vitebskiye Devchata" (Vitebsk Girls) folk Jewish national vocal and choreographic ensemble, and young dancers from the Honoured amateur collective of the Republic of Belarus, the "Zorka" (Star) choreographic ensemble. Among the actors in the background and distant plans, journalists noticed their colleagues from local publications, a medium-sized businessman, and even a sports official who was cast as an intellectual passer-by. The filming brings considerable pleasure to the townspeople, who hope to recognize familiar faces from TV series among the actors. However, not seeing them does not upset them much, as they have had the opportunity to glimpse the "behind-the-scenes" of filmmaking, and some were lucky enough to take a photo with the Red Army commander and even record Alexander Mitta himself on their mobile phones. Although the feature film is titled "Miracle about Chagall," it has a second title, which, according to Alexander Mitta, more fully reflects its idea – "Commissar Chagall and Citizen Malevich." The film will tell about two geniuses who, by the will of fate, found themselves in Vitebsk in 1918-1921, about their difficult relationship, about Malevich's struggle for young minds. There will also be a melodramatic line: Marc and his wife Bella. "However, the main driving force of the film will be two artists who, with their creativity, influenced all modern world art and opened new horizons for it," emphasized Alexander Mitta. The main roles of Marc Chagall and his muse and wife Bella went to Leonid Bichevin, an actor from the Yevgeny Vakhtangov Theatre, and Kristina Shnayderman, a student at GITIS. Kazimir Malevich will be played by Anatoly Bely, an Honoured Artist of Russia and an actor at the Moscow Art Theatre. Filming of the movie will continue in Vitebsk until October, and then will proceed in St. Petersburg and Vitebsk. Alexander Mitta remained silent about the premiere date, citing that filming is only a small part of film production, but he promised that the premiere screening would definitely take place in Vitebsk. -0-

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