Телесто

Vasiliy Barhatov, Director

As a rule, the nuclear industry is associated with Chernobyl, disaster, horrors and nightmares. But many years have gone by since the disaster, and the whole world has accepted the idea that while the future of this planet lies behind the nuclear industry, we know practically nothing about it. One of my aims was to change this negative perception of the ‘nuclear' subject by overriding it with a simple, ironic, warm, human story about love and the peaceful atom. Even today many believe that nuclear scientists are obsessive suicides, busy bare-handedly shoving their pockets full of plutonium. And I wanted to present people who work on nuclear power plants as interesting individuals with their own perception of the surrounding world, their own personal problems and their own internal concept of happiness.

Elena Glikman, Producer

This story combines two realities, two worlds: science and theatre, nuclear power and the director’s search, a symbiosis of creativity as such. And it serves as the backdrop for the relationship of the main characters. The film is about love, about searching for it, about growing up, about victory and the triumph of love and life.

Yaroslav Zhivov, Producer

Atomic Ivan is a new interpretation of the 1960's popular theme of physicists and lyricists. The story unfolds at a modern nuclear power station, and the main heroes are nuclear physicists — future-oriented people of science obsessed with their ideas, experiencing all the human emotions such as grief, joy and love. Today, Russian movies generally portray a joyless life; we wanted to create a deep movie, albeit a much lighter, brighter, more eccentric one full of humour. Atomic Ivan encourages the viewer to take a fresh look at the nuclear industry and understand that modern physics are living creative people, ones building a new and globally beautiful world.

Sergey Novikov, Producer

In the 65 years of nuclear history, this is the first time a feature film was shot at a real nuclear power plant. The viewer will be able to see everything, and I think this is an additional reason to go watch the movie. The story itself is about love, and the main thing in it is human relationships. The director and scriptwriter carried out the heavily self-critical Soviet juxtaposition of physicists and lyricists. In this case, the young nuclear scientists appear as purposeful self-improving individuals, while the representatives of the creative class appear in a rather poor morale state. Some will just laugh, but others may consider the impact that small town routine has upon the creative intelligentsia. I hope that many of viewers will be able to relate to the story and project their own personal experience on to it and find similarities, and potentially maybe even answers to questions, which would be better. And if this does indeed happen, the authors may consider the film’s grand purpose achieved.