Mira Sorvino, a Hollywood film star, is dressed in a shabby fur coat and a gray fluffy scarf - the one that Russian women wore for ages in severe winter frosts. This is exactly how women look in war newsreels showing frozen Leningrad (St. Petersburg) during the 900-day siege.
Ms. Sorvino is co-starring in a film with Russian celebrities about the Leningrad tragedy that began in August 1941. Western actors participating in the "Leningrad" drama had scarce knowledge about the siege. David Hamburg, an American working in Russian TV and the film's producer, has stressed that few in the West know that 1.5 million people died during the siege. It was a real Holocaust of Leningrad residents, he added.
David Verrey, who portrays a British reporter, has admitted that he previously had very sketchy knowledge about WWII. Now, he told Russia's Channel One, he has a far better idea of the price the Soviet people had to pay for victory. It was very important for Mr. Verrey to see the places where the historic events had taken place first hand.
The snow, the slowed pace of life in the city, hungry people, dead bodies on the streets. No dogs or cats around - they have all been eaten. People carry water from the Neva, and bodies of their relatives on sledges. Windows are tightly shut hiding the freezing peace of death. Life is a miracle here, but a hard and exhausting one. October, November, December 1941 - a hopeless time for Leningrad residents. They have nowhere to escape. Life is forsaking the besieged city. But the survivors work hard to help those fighting on the front, despite the bombings, famine and the biting frost.
"Leningrad" is timed for the 60th anniversary of the victory in WWII as a reminder of the tragedy that is gradually sinking into oblivion. It will be screened both in Russia and the West in English. Two versions will be produced - one for television and one for film. The TV version will consist of eight parts. The film crew has worked in Austria, Great Britain and Hungary, and is now working in St. Petersburg.
St. Petersburg residents, including those who survived the siege, follow the shooting process. "We try to stick to their recommendations as much as possible," says Alexander Buravsky, the scriptwriter and the director of the film. He had studied historical materials and memoirs for a long time before embarking on the project.
The film focuses on female heroism Oscar winner. Ms. Sorvino plays a young English journalist who found herself in Leningrad by accident before the siege began and was forced to stay when it was surrounded by the Nazis. The heroine is rescued by a Leningrad woman of her age working for the police. The film also features a female theater director who worked until the last days, thereby giving people the hope to survive.
The film will not be an epic or a grandiose feature about the war. "It will first of all be a story about people, Leningrad residents, though Hitler (Gary Oldman) and Stalin will also appear in the film," Mr. Buravsky said.
However, the drama will be spectacular and will continue in the tradition of Soviet war films. It will include battle scenes and modern hi-tech special effects. There is currently not enough snow in St. Petersburg, though, so the crew has to use artificial snow made of shampoo, some sources claim.
The "Leningrad" project is scheduled to be completed by April. It will be broadcast on Channel One, the highest profile TV channel in Russia.
