Gorbachev. Heaven

synopsis

For some, the destructor of the Soviet empire, betrayer of his own country, iconoclast. For many a peacemaker, bringer of faith, dynamic figure of the global world. A portrait of the spiritual father of perestroika and glasnost, Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev, presents an intimate struggle between two personalities: an aging, though still vital legend of Russian politics and a critical creator, interrogator and philosopher. Both offer their own versions of understanding the key moments of the socialist era’s end in Russia. Vitaly Mansky composes a mosaic made up of contemplative moments and debates intertwined with singing and poetry. A documentary epitaph of a feeble-bodied statesman put in contrast with the chaos of Putin’s contemporary Russia. A requiem for an echoing spring of the heavenly music of one’s childhood.

 

„I wished to see a man behind the cold marble, who decided to make the world a better place to live. And that’s why, for a long time, we didn’t give up hopes of convincing this life-beaten, almost 90-year-old man to let us into his world of desolation, frustrations, but also a joy of freedom!” (Vitaly Mansky)

biography

Vitaly Mansky (1963), documentary filmmaker and chronicler of today‘s Russia, was born in Ukraine. After graduating from VGIK, he went on to become a screenwriter and host of the Russian TV programme, Real Cinema. He also founded an online magazine focused on documentary cinema. His films have been screened at over 400 international festivals, receiving more than 50 awards.

more about film

director:	Vitaly Mansky
cast:	Mihail Gorbachev
producer:	Filip Remunda, Natalia Manska, Peter Gottschalk, Alena Müllerová
script:	Alexander Gelman, Vitaly Mansky
editing:	Yevgeny Rybalko
sound:	Anrijs Krenbergs
co-producer:	Peter Gottschalk, Alena Mullerová

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