Over 400 extras are involved in the Vitebsk filming of Alexander Mitta's film about Chagall

September 11, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Over 400 extras are involved in the Vitebsk filming of Alexander Mitta's film about Chagall. The director himself told reporters about this today, as reported by a BELTA correspondent. The People's Artist of the Russian Federation began shooting the feature film "Miracle about Chagall" a few days ago and has finally broken his vow of silence. "There is a wonderful atmosphere on the set. The people involved in the filming are a gift of fate. I couldn't have imagined such cooperation with the extras. Everything is done with soul. It's quite fun and interesting," said the eminent director. Journalists themselves became convinced of the businesslike yet cheerful atmosphere on the set while waiting to meet the director on Suvorov Street, where scenes of a 1918 demonstration in honor of the anniversary of the October Revolution are being filmed. Stern shouts from the film crew at onlookers, who had gathered around the site and kept trying to get into the frame, were replaced by the pleased exclamations of the director towards the extras who had successfully played a brief episode, followed by thunderous applause from the actors themselves. It was impossible not to smile watching a respectable gentleman in a boater hat with a cane, drinking coffee from a plastic cup during a break, or an old rabbi in a worn frock coat, animatedly discussing something on his mobile phone. Red Army soldiers on foot and on horseback appeared here and there, while young ladies of model appearance in short skirts and sky-high heels strolled by, either to attract the attention of the Red Army soldiers or in the hope that the famous director would notice them and cast them in the role of at least Bella Chagall's friend. And what about the revolutionary slogans and posters that hide the high-tech signs of modern shops: "The Vitebsk proletariat shakes hands with the proletarians of the whole world," "On the rotten ruins of capitalism, we will build a temple of communism," "Make way for the working people. Chain, axe, and hammer - gods of revolution." Continuing the conversation with journalists, Alexander Mitta once again emphasized the skill of the extras: "You just need to give people instructions, and they will figure out how to play themselves." And there is nothing surprising about this. After all, among these performers are professional actors from the Yakub Kolas National Academic Theater, amateur actors from the "Koleso" folk youth theater of the "Vitebsk" cultural center, participants of the "Vitebskiye Devchata" folk Jewish national vocal and choreographic ensemble, and young dancers from the honored amateur collective of the Republic of Belarus, the "Zorka" choreographic ensemble. Among the actors in the second and other distant plans, journalists noticed their colleagues from local publications, a medium-sized businessman, and even a sports official who played the role of an intellectual passerby. The filming also brings considerable pleasure to the townspeople, who hope to recognize familiar faces from TV series among the actors. However, not seeing them, they are not particularly upset, as they have had the chance to glimpse the "behind-the-scenes" of filmmaking, and some were lucky enough to take a photo with the commander of the Red Army soldiers and even film Alexander Mitta himself on their mobile phones. Although the full-length film is titled "Miracle about Chagall," it has a second title, which, according to Alexander Mitta, better reflects its idea - "Commissar Chagall and Citizen Malevich." The film will tell about two geniuses who, by the will of fate, found themselves in Vitebsk in 1918-1921, about their difficult relationship, about Malevich's struggle for young minds. There will also be a melodramatic line: Marc and his wife Bella. "However, the main driving force of the film will be two artists who, through their art, influenced all modern world art and opened new horizons to it," emphasized Alexander Mitta. The main roles of Marc Chagall and his muse and wife Bella went to Leonid Bichevin, an actor from the Evgeny Vakhtangov Theatre, and Kristina Shnayderman, a student at GITIS. Kazimir Malevich will be played by Anatoly Bely, an Honored Artist of Russia and an actor at the Moscow Art Theatre. The filming of the film will continue in Vitebsk until October, and then will move to St. Petersburg and Vitebsk. Alexander Mitta remained silent about the premiere date, citing that filming is only a small part of film production, but promised that the premiere screening would definitely take place in Vitebsk. -0-