Brutus (Russian: Брут) is a short film directed by Konstantin Fam of 2015, the second novel of the film trilogy "Witnesses" and the sequel of the "Shoes", dedicated to the memory of Holocaust victims.
Contents
Plot
“Brutus” continues the concept of "Witnesses" trilogy and tells us story of the Holocaust through the eyes of a German Shepherd dog Brutus. The Nuremberg Laws have separated the dog with his favorite mistress, Jewish woman. In the process of training and taming Brutus becomes a concentration camp beast-killer. The film is based on a novel of a Czech writer Ludvik Ashkenazy.
Crew
Director: Konstantin Fam
Composer: Egor Romanenko
Producers: Konstantin Fam, Ian Fisher Romanovsky, Alexey A. Petruhin, Yuri Igrusha, Egor Odintsov
Script: Konstantin Fam
Cinematography: Giora Bejach
Cast
Oksana Fandera- Rosanna
Filipp Yankovsky - Horst
Vladimir Koshevoi - Leo
Anna Churina - Clara
Maria Zykova - Ada
Marta Drozdova - Martha
Production
Filmmakers from Russia, Romania, Israel, the United States, Moldova, Belarus and the Czech Republic participated in the production.
The film was created with the financial support of the Ministry for Culture of Russia, as well as private philanthropists.
Art features
The crew used a variety of filming techniques. The main aim was to show the events through the dog's eyes.
Konstantin Fam:
-Our film will be tough, but entirely pacifist in nature. My task is to make the viewer see things from the dog’s point of view, to show how quickly somebody can be brainwashed and turn into a monster
Confession
Film premiered at the Moscow International Film Festival in June 2016.
Accolades
Awards
The Nevada International Film Festival (USA), Experimental Film Competition, Platinum Reel Award Winner (2016)
Sochi International Film Awards (Russia), Special Prize (2016)
Film was longlisted to the 89th Academy Awards by Academy Award for Live Action Short Film (USA)
The Golden Eagle Award of National Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences of Russia (Russia)
Best Shorts Competition - "Best Jewish film" (USA)
Participations
Hong Kong World International Film Festival (Hong Kong)
International Filmmaker Festival of World Cinema London (UK)
Sedona Film Festival (USA)
PUFF Film Festival Hong Kong
Best Shorts Competition (USA)
New Haven International Film Festival (USA)
Official partners
Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia
Documentary Film Center
Youth Center of the Union of Cinematographers of the Russian Federation
ROSKINO