‘Limonov: The Ballad’ Director Kirill Serebrennikov Sets French-Language ‘Love Story About Photography’ as Next Feature (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Ben Croll After a trio of controversy-courting biographies, Russian auteur Kirill Serebrennikov will next tackle a more genteel original drama about photography shot and set in France.

Described as a “chamber film” and “almost a love story” cast on a more intimate scale, the project will be Serebrennikov’s first-ever French language feature.

Following 2022’s “Tchaikovsky’s Wife” with the one-two punch of “Limonov: The Ballad” and the upcoming Josef Mengele drama “The Disappearance” – which the filmmaker has already wrapped – Serebrennikov starting developing this French-language project to allow himself a welcome change of pace. “It will be less dark,” he tells Variety from the Marrakech Film Festival, adding that he’s taking a break from real-world figures for a while. “Let’s say this original script is about my admiration for photography, about the genius of photography as an art [and about] the love of two photographers.” The filmmaker will shoot this smaller scale feature as he continues to develop his English-language, limited-series adaptation of “The Phantom of the Opera” with partners at Pathé and Hype Studios.

And while the director and playwright has always divided his attention between film and theater, Serebrennikov is equally keen to try his hand at new media, adding that he’s is “dreaming” of making a VR or AR project, and that he “loves it a lot.” “It’s pure cinema—cinema without cuts,” he says. “That’s why I strive to show the audience that there are no tricks.