In the tragicomic drama “Theodore Ozierav’s Swan Song,” there are only a few days left until the New Year, the atmosphere is filled with the premonition of World War III, and the 25-year-old musician Theodore Ozierav is determined to form a band and write new songs.
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However, his plans are disrupted by a missing favorite sweater, which Theodore considers the source of his creative power. To get it back, the musician embarks on an unexpected journey.
The actor V. Kmit, who plays the main character in the film, smiles that his Theodore is too self-focused. “He is one of those people who constantly overthink everything and never fully relaxes. He is concentrated only on himself and hardly cares about the outside world. But sometimes, in moments of enlightenment, he finally understands some important things.”
Detachment against the backdrop of threat
One of Theodore’s moments of realization is his sister, who is in trouble and is played by actress V. Rahachova. And although the film’s story takes place in an unnamed country, the actress sees parallels with the current situation in Belarus: “The main character’s detachment from everything happening around resonates strongly. I feel how people now constantly find reasons to turn away from important things happening in the world,” she notes.
You can feel in the air how tired, even exhausted, we all are.
“You can feel in the air how tired, even exhausted, we all are. The character is awakened by a critical moment – only after losing a loved one does he take action. I think this moves something in the viewers too – even trying to remain indifferent, sometimes you finally realize how close a threat can come to you, right to your doorstep,” the actress reflects.
V. Rahachova says that the international and Belarusian audiences receive the film very differently. “After some screenings at international festivals, people kept saying it was a deeply political film. But when my relatives who stayed in Belarus saw it, the only thing they cared about was the death of the character I portrayed.”
“I think this well reflects how many Belarusian families live now – they avoid political topics and choose to talk about the weather and daily life. It seems as if some kind of pause button has been pressed in reality. People somehow try to continue their lives focusing on something else, everyone looking for their own ways.”
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The desire to create
The film tells about the endless desire to create even in seemingly the most unfavorable circumstances, and the main actor says he knows this feeling – V. Kmit, who creates music, felt similarly to his character. “It’s even a bit funny that when I received a message from director Jurijus about the film, I was in the same situation as the main character – trying to create new songs but not succeeding very well.”
“But right after filming ended, I was caught by a huge inspiration – I wrote a song every day. The film touches on many important themes, and the creative process is one of them. In real life, it looks just like depicted in the film – how something is born from nothing, something is created,” the actor reflects.
The very “Theodore Ozierav’s Swan Song” was born out of an unstoppable desire to create. Director J. Semaško, with the help of the Belarusian community based in Warsaw, Lithuanians, and Germans, created the film almost without a budget. It premiered at the prestigious Berlin Film Festival, competed in the “Forum” program, and won the “Tagesspiegel” newspaper readers’ jury award.
“We were all very inspired by the film’s idea and ready to help it come to life. We had an agreement – when not filming, somehow still helping – with the microphone, lighting, camera – with whatever was needed,” recalls V. Rahachova. – “Theodore Ozierav’s Swan Song” became something more than just a film to me. It became something we talk about, something that encourages raising certain topics, awakens the desire to think and create about them.”
The actors of the tragicomic drama “Theodore Ozierav’s Swan Song” will travel through Lithuanian cinemas from September 2-6 to meet Lithuanian audiences. This joint Lithuanian and German production was produced by the Lithuanian company “Artbox” (prod. Kęstutis Drazdauskas) together with “Singo” (prod. Leonid Kalitenya), and the German post-production studio “Shoot’N’Post” (prod. Marc-Daniel Dichant and Christian Riegel) helped to complete it. The film’s distribution was partially funded by the Lithuanian Film Centre.
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