Claudia Boczar

Based on the novel by Booker Prize Winner Ludmila Ulitskaya, The Funeral Party is set in August 1991. In a sweltering New York City apartment, a group of Russian émigrés gathers round the deathbed of an artist named Alik, a charismatic character beloved by them all, especially the women who take turns nursing him as he fades from this world. Their reminiscences of the dying man and of their lives in Russia are punctuated by debates and squabbles: Whom did Alik love most? Should he be baptized before he dies, as his alcoholic wife, Nina, desperately wishes, or be reconciled to the faith of his birth by a rabbi who happens to be on hand? And what will be the meaning for them of the Yeltsin putsch, which is happening across the world in their long-lost Moscow but also right before their eyes on CNN?

A young artist gets into a scuffle with bikers after dabbling in graffiti on the subway. This altercation costs him a trip to Italy, and he is sent to rural Russia instead. However, his journey takes an unexpected turn.

Igor is ready for anything for the sake of Polina’s happiness, and in order to compensate for the loss of her son, the couple opens up to a new child. But instead of an ordinary boy from a shelter, a mystical creature that can recreate the memories gets into their family ... There has not yet been found a recipe for centuries of suffering, but perhaps the key to salvation in selfless love for each other ... Open your heart! Let her in ...