Light Up!
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Ruben Dishdishyan
- Vadim Goryainov
- Pavel Odynin
- Kirill Pletnyov
| Light Up! | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Kirill Pletnyov |
| Written by | Kirill Pletnyov |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Sergey Mikhalchuk |
| Music by | Artyom Mikhayonkin |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Nashe Kino |
Release date |
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Running time | 97 min. |
| Country | Russia |
| Language | Russian |
Light Up! (Russian: Жги!, romanized: Zhgi!) is a 2017 Russian musical drama film directed and written by Kirill Pletnyov.[3][4][5] The film took part in the main competitive program of the film festival Kinotavr 2017.[6] The film tells the story of a female supervisor at a women's prison who is given the chance to participate in a major Russian music show, with unexpected help from an inmate who is also a singer.[7]
A strict warden at a women’s correctional facility in the town of Aprelsk, Alevtina Romanova, nicknamed "Romashka" (played by Inga Oboldina), possesses an extraordinary singing talent. She has been singing since childhood. As a little girl, she even performed on stage at this same facility, accompanied by her grandmother, singing The Old Clock from Alla Pugacheva's repertoire. However, Alevtina is very self-conscious about her talent, and as an adult, she rarely sings, doing so only in private.
On her fortieth birthday, just before her well-deserved retirement, her coworkers and family give her a karaoke machine as a gift and urge her to sing. After much persuasion, she agrees and chooses the same song she sang as a child, "The Old Clock". During her performance, one of the inmates, Maria Star, a former opera singer and conservatory graduate nicknamed "The Lame" (played by Viktoria Isakova), secretly records Alevtina’s singing on her phone and uploads the video online. In a short time, the video garners over a million views and becomes a huge success. Alevtina catches the attention of talent scouts in Moscow and is invited to participate in a popular televised talent show, "Light Up!". She truly wants to change her life but is entirely unprepared for the competition. Maria Star, who is serving a three-year sentence for manslaughter under Article 107 of the Russian Criminal Code, helps Alevtina prepare for the performance and find her voice.
Cast
- Viktoriya Isakova as Masha Star
- Inga Strelkova-Oboldina as Alevtina
- Vladimir Ilyin as Ivanych
- Tatyana Dogilevaas Yelena Sysoeva
- Anna Ukolova as Vera
- Aleksey Shevchenkov as Sergey
- Daniil Steklov as Mazhor
- Aleksandra Bortich as Zhenya, Sysoeva's daughter
- Yekaterina Ageeva as Shurka
- Olga Buzova as cameo[8]
- Anastasia Schipanova as singing star
- Nikita Kologrivyy as overseer