Baltic Event Co-Production Market
White Road
Having lived in the capital city for many years, a successful political consultant, Aldar, returns to a far-away home to search for his mother who disappeared in the Steppes. When he finds her, they make the journey that they didn't have time to take while she was still alive.
… try to imagine that. Mother is the motherland: the motherland that gave you life and nourishes you with its energy. The motherland, which we betray in our thoughts, renounce it, thereby destroying ourselves from the inside instead of accepting and loving it only because it's the mother.
The White Road is about the feelings that go against reality. About what is in the air, but is impossible to touch or to see. Something that we seem to see, but it can be just a figment of our imagination. On the other hand, we give so much attention to these feelings, we rely on this invisible sensation, we trust it more than the real arguments.
Ella Manzheeva is a member of the RF Directors Guild. Director, scriptwriter, producer. She was born in the Russian republic of Kalmykia. In 2008, she graduated from Higher Courses of Scriptwriters and Directors under a supervision of V. I. Khotinenko, P. K. Finn, and V. A. Fenchenko. Her feature debut The Gulls had its premiere at the Berlinale International Film Festival in 2015, and won the Best Debut Award at Open Russian Film Festival “Kinotavr” in the same year. Ella was nominated for APSA UNESCO Award Achievement for outstanding contribution to the promotion and preservation of cultural diversity through the art of cinema. The film has been screened in 28 countries and on all the continents. Her new project White Road was selected to the Berlinale Residency and presented at the Berlinale Co-Production Market.
Elena Glikman graduated from the faculty of journalism of Moscow State University, and then from Higher Courses for Directors and Scriptwriters (workshop of Igor Tolstunov). Since 1991, she is the head (together with Mikhail Degtyar) of the TV-studio “Reporter” (special reports and documentary films). The Studio “Reporter” has been four times awarded with the TEFI television awards, as well as the “Laurel” award and many international prizes. Elena Glikman is a CEO of Telesto-Film Company, where she works since 2006. Films produced by the studio have been many times nominated and awarded at various international film festivals.
Victoria Lupik was born in Moscow, Russia. In 2005, she graduated from VGIK (the producers faculty). EAVE graduate of 2012. Works in film production since 2002. In 2009, she founded “Anniko Films” based in Russia and Armenia. ”I'm Going to Change My Name” by Maria Saakyan, Victoria’s first feature, was supported by the Göteborg IFF Fund, World Cinema Fund, Danish Film Institute and Torino Film Lab. In 2013, it won Best Feature at Golden Apricot IFF and Best Film at Hayak National Film Awards (Armenia). In 2017, she released the feature documentary film “YOU ROCK”, which became a Russian box-office hit. She is focused on co-production.
The TELESTO production company was founded in 2004. From the very beginning, TELESTO has been dedicated to the production of high-quality, positive, spectator-oriented, modern films. The production company started with a small number of TV films, but each year has realised more and more ambitious projects, and actively mastered new formats. Apart from producing commercial films, TELESTO has successfully turned its hand to independent art films: The Letter was awarded prizes at many IFF, and was selected to the 60th annual Cannes Festival; The Pitch has been nominated/awarded at many IFF, including Tallinn, Bucharest, Zlin, Chicago, Milan; Spitak won the Best Director at Moscow IFF and was representing Armenia in a Best Foreign Language Film section of the 2019 Academy Awards.