About the movie
In the center of the story is Gennady Nikolaevich
Zaitsev, Hero of the Soviet Union, devoted his whole life to protecting the national interests of the Motherland, who wrote glorious pages in the chronicle of the legendary Alpha division.
Gennady Nikolaevich’s entire life path is a bright and rapid rise up the social ladder: a boy from a remote Ural village, who grew up without a father in a large family, he managed not only to survive the difficulties of military
childhood and post—war devastation, but also to become at the origins of the “A” group, achieving recognition and finding himself in the ranks of the real defenders of the Fatherland.
This is a story of overcoming in the spirit of the best works about patriotic education, which demonstrates to the younger generation that boundless devotion to the Motherland, work for the benefit of their country, courage and loyalty to their ideals will help to take any height.
The film covers the period of the hero’s life from 10 to 54 years old.
Trailer
Awards
2021 — XXIX Всероссийский кинофестиваль «Виват кино России!» (Санкт-Петербург)
Приз за лучшую операторскую работу (Фёдор Лясс)
Приз за лучшую женскую роль (Ольга Лерман)
2021 — Международный кинофестиваль «Защитники Отечества» (Казань)
Лучший полнометражный фильм
Лучшая женская роль (Ольга Лерман)
2021 — V Международный кинофестиваль «Белые ночи Фильм Фестиваль» (Санкт-Петербург)
Лучший полнометражный фильм
2021 — ХII Международный кинофестиваль имени Валентины Леонтьевой «От всей души!» (Ульяновск)
Лучшая режиссёрская работа (Н.Хомерики)
2021 — XXIX Международный детский кинофестиваль «Алые паруса „Артека“» (Гурзуф, Крым)
Лучшая актриса кинофестиваля (Ольга Лерман)
Самый мудрый фильм
2021 — XIX Международный фестиваль спортивного кино «KRASNOGORSKI» (Москва)
Гран-При
2021 — XV Всероссийский фестиваль исторических фильмов «Вече» (Нижний Новгород)
Лучший сценарий (Тимур Хван, Татьяна Гурьянова, Александр Гурьянов, Марат Ким, Андрей Курейчик)
Лучший оператор (Фёдор Лясс)
Приз президента кинофестиваля
2021 — 41st Sports Film Festival (Palermo) (41й Фестиваль спортивного кино в Палермо, Италия)
Paladino d’Oro — Best Fiction — Лучший игровой фильм
2022 — Национальная кинонаграда России «ЗОЛОТОЙ ОРЁЛ»
Лучшая музыка к фильму (Композитор Алексей Айги)
– About the amazing fate of the Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General Gennady Nikolaevich Zaitsev scenario group – Timur Hwang, Tatiana Guryanova and Alexander Guryanov – learned from the book of his memoirs “SPETSNAZ. Alpha: business and people,” the filmmakers say. – This book is well known among people who are related to the special services. Then we met Gennady Nikolaevich personally – in June 2021. Since then, we have repeatedly met with Gennady Nikolaevich, his son and sisters, for which the scenario group traveled to the hero’s homeland in the Perm Region. In addition to getting to know the family, we met with the daughter of mentor Gennady Nikolaevich, who remembers him as a young foreman of the Kremlin regiment. During this time, we have collected more than fifty hours of memories, which allowed us to choose for the film the most vivid and significant events not only from the life of our hero, but also from the history of the country.
– We can say that “COMMANDER” is a picture about a real Russian commander, – says the producer of the film Timur Hwang. – After reading the book and getting to know Gennady Nikolaevich, we realized that the story of his life should definitely be transferred to the big screen. This is very important for the younger generation. By talking about such heroes, we can definitely guarantee that our children will grow up to be real patriots. His name has been classified for a long time, but at the recent Victory Parade on Red Square, Gennady Nikolaevich sat on the podium to the left of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zaitsev’s life path is actions, what characterizes a real hero. And in 2021, we started working on the script. Our film is a biographical film that combines a variety of genres: action and thriller, detective and melodrama, romance and historical picture.
We have collected more than fifty hours of memories, which allowed us to choose for the film the most vivid and significant events not only from the life of our hero, but also from the history of the country…
Timur Hwang, director
– We see the main viewers of our film as people who love the genre of biographical cinema, as well as those who want to connect their lives with the profession of defending their homeland, – says Timur Hwang. – We want to show the younger generation a living example of a man who has become a real hero. An example that can be followed by the current boys.
– I think the film will be interesting to a wide range of viewers, – Kirill Zaitsev believes. – It is sometimes important for both adults and teenagers to think that at a time when we live, study, and raise children in our country, there are people who do not stop thinking about our safety and will always come to the rescue in case of trouble.
– Kirill Zaitsev was approved for the main role immediately and unconditionally. It has all the characteristics to create a real image of the main character,” Timur Hwang continues. – In addition to his talented acting, Kirill proved himself to be a good creative producer.
– I have a number of reasons why I decided to participate in this project, says Kirill Zaitsev. – Firstly, the personality of Gennady Nikolaevich himself. I got a strong impression when I met him personally, and I also read his book with interest. For me, he is a clear-minded person who is able to think soberly and make the right decisions in the most difficult situation. A man who sits down at the chess table with terrorists every time and has no right to lose games. Gennady Nikolaevich is a legendary personality: for 11 years of his service as commander of Group A, all operations under his leadership were successful, and moreover, they were carried out without a single loss among the personnel! Secondly, I liked the idea of telling about the events that took place on December 1, 1988 in Ordzhonikidze. And to tell this story on behalf of the people who were “behind the scenes” at that time, on behalf of a real hero, on whom the outcome of negotiations with terrorists and the fate of these unfortunate children and their teacher depended. And thirdly, how could I refuse to play Zaitsev? (Laughs) This is a rare coincidence, which is somewhat significant for me.
The film was supported by large Russian companies: Rostec State Corporation and Rosoboronexport JSC, the Cinema Foundation, etc. Rostec believes that such heroic stories should be more common in Russian culture. “This is a film about a man with a capital letter, about courage, about the struggle of good against evil and about the situation of choice in which sooner or later everyone finds themselves. It is precisely such subjects that should be cultivated in art, and children should be brought up on them. These are the kind of heroes our society needs, not fictional “supermen” and “batmen”, especially now, at a difficult time for the country. That is why we supported this project”,
— commented in Rostec.
Posters
Photos from the filming
Tatyana Guryanova
Alexander Guryanov
Julia Sobinova
Kirill Davletshin
Alexander Zverev
Alexey Ryazantsev
Artyom Tkachenko
Sergey Makhovikov
Vladimir Zaitsev
Nelly Millet
Valery Barinov
Vadim Andreev
Valery Afanasyev
Anatoly Kotenev
Boris Kamorzin
Soslan Fidarov
Makhail Khmurov
Alexey Shevchenkov
Vadim Galygin
Mikhail Bespalov
Alexandra Nikiforova
Alexander Obmanov
Alexander Khoshabaev
Sergey Kuznetsov
Sergey Borisov
Danil Steklov
Jonathan Solway
Maria Fedosova
Marina Lebedeva
Julia Romashina
Veronika Norina
Tatiana Kazyuchits
Serafima Smolina
Alexander Zhukov
Nikita Bureev
Angelina Vyalbe
Alexander Konovalov
