The premiere of Alexander Mitta's film "Chagall - Malevich" will take place in Vitebsk on April 3

Along with many cities in Belarus, Russia, and some European countries, the first screening of the film will take place in Vitebsk at the Cinema House, but the film's cast and crew, and those who helped make it happen, will see the film the day before. As is known, all the outdoor filming for the movie took place in the homeland of Marc Chagall in August-September 2012.

Many townspeople took part in the crowd scenes, and some even got small roles. Alexander Mitta and the main actors will come to the premiere. This was announced at a press conference by Valentina Kirillova, the film's scientific consultant and curator of its distribution in Belarus. She has already seen the film, two-thirds of whose credits are acknowledgments to the authorities, organizations, and residents of Vitebsk.

The film's genre has not yet been determined, and its title has been changed twice. Initially, there were options like “Commissar Chagall and Citizen Malevich”, “Miracle about Chagall”, but the accepted title was “Chagall – Malevich”, which, according to the director's conviction, most accurately reflects the concept of the picture.

The plot, as stated in the synopsis, is based on the story of the selfless love of Bella Chagall, the wife of the great artist, which unfolds against the backdrop of her husband's historical duel with his brilliant contemporary antipode Kazimir Malevich, and another, even more desperate struggle for Bella's heart with her childhood friend, and now Red Army Commissar, Naum. This love triangle was conceived by Alexander Mitta himself, while the other conflicts are based on real events.

The film begins with the young Marc Chagall arriving in his native Vitebsk from Paris. He plans to stay for only a few months, but the revolution and the beginning of the civil war change his plans. Chagall marries his beloved Bella Rosenfeld and opens an avant-garde art school in Vitebsk. It is there that he invites Kazimir Malevich, the founder of Suprematism, to teach. Due to a conflict between the artists, Chagall leaves the school he founded.

The film was shot under the supervision of the artist's granddaughter, Meret Meyer-Graber. She met with the film crew, and Alexander Mitta approved the rough cut of the film with her. Meret Meyer-Graber noted the incredible resemblance of actress Kristina Shnayderman, who played Bella, to her grandmother. With the permission of the Chagall Committee in Paris, copies of paintings by Chagall and Malevich, made by Vitebsk artists, were used in the film. In addition, photographs and postcards with views of pre-revolutionary Vitebsk were recreated and translated into three-dimensional form. The music for the film was composed by Alexei Aigi, who, as a musician and artist, took part in the first plein air event "Malevich. UNOVIS. Modernity" held in Vitebsk in 1994.

As Valentina Kirillova noted, the screening of the film "Chagall – Malevich" is included in the cultural program of the World Hockey Championship, and posters in English have been made for foreigners. An exhibition of costumes, props, and works by artists involved in the filming will be timed to coincide with the film's screening. The film will also be included in the film program of the "Slavianski Bazaar" festival.

– New filming will begin soon in the city on the Dvina, – stated Valentina Kirillova.

Alexander Mitta and other directors plan to create a film series about the history of the Russian artistic avant-garde, which will include Vitebsk-related storylines.

Tatyana Pasternak, "Vitebskiye Vesti"