“Aphrodite” By Anastasia Kaluzhnaya & Maria Kochergina
Synopsis
Aphrodite (Greek goddess associated with love, beauty, pleasure, passion and procreation) is the oldest image of a woman who has hardly escaped herself from the gravity of society - an example that is not outdated at all. She has shown how nature and the acceptance of self-energy can overcome rejection by society and get the title of the Goddess of Love.
Lina, the main character, can't find common ground within the city she lives in. Mental desolation becomes a habitual guide of her reality. Lack of similar attitudes and approaches to life from people around her and the noisy city motivates her to leave. Lina reaches the “Place of Power” and notices a group of young women who are spending time in a meadow near the river. They are dressed almost the same, they have the same physique, but all of the young women have different faces. Lina decides to join the mysterious company.
Be sure to check out Anastasia and Maria’s statement on their film below!
Credits
Starring - Iraida Evdokimova
Directed and Produced by Anastasiya Kaluzhnaya & Maria Kochergina
Written by Maria Kochergina
Director of Photography - Xenia Selvian
Assistant Producer - Roman Dragunov
Production Designer - Anastasia Ledkova
Assistant Production Designer - Vladislav Tinkov
Gaffer - Alexey Igoshev
1st AC - Arsen Sarkisyan
2nd AC - Oleg Sosnitsky
Make-Up Artists:
Elizaveta Zaitseva, Vita Rudich, Alexandra Vasilyeva
Cast:
Polina Lugovskaya, Daria Kuznetsova, Valeria Ochirova, Artem Ivanov, Nikita Novikov, Oleg Volovyev, Leyla Karemova, Ivan Ptashits, Arina Gavrushenko, Daria Pletushkina, Anna Vavilova, Diana Evdokimova, Ilya Chernobavsky, Marta Fedulova
Editor - Anastasiya Kaluzhnaya
Music - Pavel Andreev
Colorist - Dmitry Litvinov
Photographer - Elizaveta Merkulova
Special Thanks:
Konechno Clothes, Maria Balkova, Kaluzhnaya Valentina, Kate Treshchinkina, Alexandr Barbakov, Julia Logvicheva, Eskander Gaziev, Khetag Temirov, Ilya Yalunin, Vyacheslav Knyazev, Artem Matevosyan, Valeriya Tolmacheva, Anastasya Zvarko, Vladimir Lazarenko
Beyond the Short
The question of self-determination in society is very relevant at the present time. The information field now provides many options for self-identification, but some of them may be false or very superficial. When we raise the question of women's identity, the system of images associated with femininity and the social cliché through which we define ourselves, we decide which part of us to leave visible and which - to hide. Our heroine does not hide her feelings, she continues to struggle with the system of prejudices and finds the meaning of existence outside the paradigm of "female destiny".
The path of the main heroine to the Power Place is full of diverse characters who communicates with her in different ways. Whether they are people at a strange party, as a metaphor for a society that disapproves you, or a guide in the form of a white horse that leads a girl to magical nymphs.
We found our Place of Power in the Tula Region, which is 350 km away from Moscow. We did not imagine it to be anything else. The first scene in the storyboard was at sunrise, so we decided to move to the location at night. It was very exciting. We spent a long time preparing for our first shooting day in life, and we were only a few hours away from the place before the words were spoken: “Camera! The camera is ready! Start!” At the first checkpoint before leaving the city, viewed the team (about 15 people), we felt inspired - if they all believe in us, then we do not have any doubts.
Russian savvy can help you arrange shooting even in nature. When it is a completely creative project, all methods of implementing ideas, that are used without significant budget losses, are good. So, while the girls were preparing for the first shot, in the semi-darkness we ironed dresses with the help of a warm hood of a car and water. If you do not have a steamer – life hack for a note!
Filming animals was very tricky to realise, but the final result surprised us. We lost the reservation of one of the horse stables and on the way to Moscow, we hoped to find something similar. In the new location, there was a beautiful white horse that spent only 5 minutes in front of the camera, then reared up and ran away. Everyone was shocked. But this was the frame we wanted to see. After the words "It was good!", the first shooting day was over.
We did not sleep for more than two days, overcame all the roughness of the first big shooting, but we were able to express ourselves! Thanks Wordshop Music Video, our huge team, without you it would not have happened!
“Aphrodite” was submitted to us by Anastasiya Kaluzhnaya. Have a film of your own you’d like us to check out? Click here!