USA / USSR,
1977, 90 min
Shown in 1977
CREDITS
- dir
-
Robert Dornhelm, Earle Mack
- prod
-
Earle Mack
- scr
-
Beth Gutcheon
- cam
-
Karl Kofler
- editor
-
Tina Frese
- cast
-
Angelina Armeiskaya, Alec Timoushin, Lena Voronzova, Michaela Cerna, Galina Messeneva, Konstantine Zaklinsky, Grace Kelly
- source
-
Ted Landreth
-
COMMENTS
Narrated by Princess Grace of Monaco aka Grace Kelly.
OTHER
This fascinating look at life inside the top ballet school in the Soviet Union (the Leningrad Academy, which provides new talent for the Kirov Ballet) was produced with full cooperation by the Russian authorities and marks the first screen appearance of Princess Grace of Monaco since her marriage and retirement from films 22 years ago. The film focuses on the students of the Vaganova Choreographic Institute, concentrating on three students in particular—a very young girl, a young woman ready to graduate to the Kirov and a young male dancer. There are also featured performances by the Bolshoi, Kirov and Maly companies, each a revelation perfectly captured on film.
FACTOID #51
The first silent film screened at the Festival (now an annual tradition) was The Scarlet Letter (1924) by the great Swedish director Victor Sjöström, on October 24, 1968. The film’s star, Lillian Gish, was honored with an in-person tribute two days later.
