CIFF47: PSQ March 22 – April 1, 2023 | Streams April 2 – April 9, 2023

Crystal Swan
(Khrustal)

Year: 2018
Country: BELARUS, USA, GERMANY, RUSSIA
Language: Russian
Run Time: 93 minutes

Crystal Swan
Crystal Swan
Crystal Swan
Crystal Swan

It’s 1996 in post-Soviet Belarus, and all Velya wants is to escape into her music. Cassette tapes and night clubs offer temporary relief, but her big dream is to become a world-class DJ in Chicago, the birthplace of the house music she lives and breathes. As her restlessness continues to grow in a homeland that doesn’t understand her, stylish and spunky Velya will do whatever it takes to get to the U.S., including lying, stealing, and filing a visa application with false information. After realizing the American consulate will contact the phone number she provided to verify her fake employment, Velya sets out on a desperate journey to track down the owner of the number before the consulate calls and her dreams are eternally shattered. Following Velya on her high-stakes mission, CRYSTAL SWAN holds a charming, nostalgic, and whimsical aesthetic that is truly one of a kind. (In English and Russian with subtitles) —G.S.

CIFF43 Screenings

Saturday, April 06, 2019 at 9:35 PM

Sunday, April 07, 2019 at 1:25 PM

Competitions
George Gund III Memorial Central and Eastern European Competition
Reel Women Direct Award for Excellence in Directing by a Woman

Related Daily Postings
Personal Experiences Lead Filmmaker to Achieve Her American Dream

Director

Director
Darya Zhuk

Belarus-born award-winning film director Darya Zhuk has been obsessing about filmmaking long enough to see her short films selected to SXSW, Tarkovsky, Oaxaca, Atlanta, Palm Springs, Koroche, Santa Fe Independent film festivals just to name a few. She is a graduate of Columbia University MFA program in Directing. Darya lives and creates between Minsk and Brooklyn.

Filmography
CRYSTAL SWAN (2018)

Producer
Debbie Vandermeulen

Screenwriting
Helga Landauer

Cinematography
Carolina Costa

Editing
Sergey Dmitrenko, Michal Leszczylowski

Principal Cast
Alina Nassibulina, Ivan Mulin, Yury Borisov

Film Contact
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