MOSCOW — Pavel Lungin's stark religious drama "The Island" took most of the top awards at Russia's 5th Golden Eagle ceremony, held at leading production facility Mosfilm on Saturday.
Lungin's film, a distinct departure from the style of his previous work, was highly tipped for awards from members of the country's National Academy for Film and Television Arts, though the scale of its victory still looked unprecedented.
The pic, which closed last year's Venice fest, came away with prizes for film, director, script for Dmitry Sobolev, cinematography for the late Andrei Zhegalov (the d.p., who was in his early 40s, died only days before the awards ceremony).
It also took the actor's prize for Petr Mamonov, a figure who has moved from punk musician of the late 1980s to contemporary visionary, and whose acceptance speech touched on plenty of unexpected issues for an awards ceremony — from Russian politics to the country's policies on abortion.
Supporting actor went to the film's Viktor Sukhorukhov, for his role as the senior father in a remote monastery in Russia's far north — definitely a career change for the thesp, who's been best known to date for his screen depictions of Russian gangsters and various other unsavory figures.
Lungin's film is set between the end of WWII and the late 1970s, and is an expiation drama for Mamonov's hero, set in bleak and cold marine wilderness environments.
That left little room for other pics, with actress going to Anna Mikhalkova for her role in Dunya Smironova's debut drama "Contact."
Mikhalkova, daughter of the Academy president Nikita Mikhalkov, accepted the award with gratitude, and a remark that her somewhat ample figure had not prevented her acting talents being recognized.
Mikhalkov himself featured prominently in closing parts of ceremony. After video archive from 20 odd years ago showing the Russian helmer carrying fellow director Roman Polanski in his arms, Mikhalkov proceeded to do exactly the same on the Mosfilm stage, with Polanski receiving the Golden Eagle's lifetime achievement award.
Best foreign film award went to Pedro Almodovar's "Volver."
Elder generation figures had to content themselves with TV awards — dominated by classic literature adaptations, which have been strong in the territory over the last year.
Best miniseries went to veteran Gleb Panfilov for his adaptation of Alexander Solzhenitsyn's gulag drama "First Circle," with TV actress awarded to Panfilov's wife Inna Churikova for her role in that work.
TV series went to Alexander Proshkin for his Pasternak adaptation "Dr. Zhivago," which also took TV actor for Oleg Yankovsky.
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