Last April, I was surprised to learn that Russian filmmaker Kantemir Balagov hadn’t shot a single single frame of his upcoming film “Monica”. Balagov, I was told, left Russia and was stuck in Georgia working on an American VISA.
It seems as though Balagov’s application was successful and he is now in the process of attempting to extend his stay in the United States with a more durable O1B Visa.
Balagov originally planned to shoot “Monica” in Russia. Now, he’s in the process of rewriting the story and setting it in a Circassian diaspora community of New Jersey. The film will be both English and Russian.
I wrote a review for Balagov’s “Beanpole” at Cannes 2019. It’s a fascinating, but madly uneven movie. Regardless, I thought a competition slot would have better suited it that year instead of Un Certain Regard. This next film is definitely on our radar.