‘The Master and Margarita,’ Long-Awaited Adaptation of Mikhail Bugakov’s Iconic Russian Novel, Headed for AFM as Luminosity Pictures Reps Sales (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

AFM this week. The feature, directed by Michael Lockshin (“Silver Skates”), was a victim of the sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, despite both Locksin and the film itself being critical of Putin’s authoritarianism.

With the film’s rights now in the clear, Luminosity Pictures have boarded the project as sales agent, launching at AFM. “The Master and Margarita” stars August Diehl (“Inglourious Basterds”), Claes Bang (“Bad Sisters”), Evgeniy Tsyganov (The Man Who Surprised Everyone”) and Yulia Snigir (“A Good Day to Die Hard”).

Lockshin co-wrote the screenplay with Roman Kantor based on Bulgakov’s semi-autobiographical and anti-authoritarian novel, which has sold over 100 million copies internationally and been translated into over 40 languages.

The film, set in the Stalinist Soviet Union of the 1940s/50s, tells the story of “The Master” (Tsyganov) whose analogy-laden play about Pontius Pilate (Bang) is canceled by the authoritarian government.