浴火鸟

柴静说，在没有光的地方没有爱，只有性。 我认为电影里面同妻，是环境社会的逼迫。强制性的让人病态分裂，扭曲。 反观现在整体大环境的改善。压迫的锁链虽消失不见，但也没有走出穹顶。 锁链消失的同时，好像也随之消失了什么东西。 以数字10为选择的核心，停留且沉沦于器官的化学反应，我们幸福太多，悲伤太多。 —————— 关于导演 故事很长，明显不是以票房为主要目的，更像是对这个故事纪念和记录。（当然票房肯定是有考虑过的）个人非常非常喜欢导演安排的一些细节。

这一组截图是他们在索契度假的情节 导演这里给了鸽子一个特写，非常细腻的表达出了当时平和温柔的氛围，又呼应了当时战争的背景。主人公只有在这个时候才能找到内心的平静吧。 后面又给了一个鸽子飞走的镜头。暗示两人的美好转瞬即逝，又暗示着主人公无法强制留住这份爱，又与后文中，罗曼去世他们的爱情永恒呼应。（可能是我过度解读了，但是我真的很喜欢导演留这些有趣的细节）

重现了故事的全貌，导演几乎没加入自己的想法理解。 精巧的细节布置和分镜安排。每个镜头里的细节都有自己的作用。恰到好处的氛围把控。最后再加上演员的演技和颜值。光靠这些，它就注定不会是一个玛丽苏烂片。 个人觉得美中不足的是电影中女主路易莎形象并不是很鲜明。

2021年12月28号。

资源可私

大家可以去ins上联系罗曼@zagorodniioleg。会回私信的！

电影是真实事件改编，所以，更令人哀痛无比。看完电影是深夜了，心压着山一般的沉重。虽然自以为是修行人，我却连一部电影都久久走不出来。很惭愧。

片尾有Sergey的黑白照片，下面有一行字: In loving memory of Sergey Fetisov。电影最后的字幕是：Please share this true story with those you love. 再一次再一次，忍不住潸然，泪水泛滥。一部电影，别人的人生，让我看见的是人生的苦。求不得，爱别离，放不下。

到最后，Roman和Sergey阴阳两隔，Roman在阿富汗的蓝天里找到自己的自由，Sergey则怀着Roman炽热的爱孤独走完自己的一生。

爱沙尼亚电影「浴火鸟」（Firebird），是以斯特拉文斯基谱曲的芭蕾舞剧The Firebird为片名。电影是在Sergey观看这部芭蕾舞剧至高潮时结束，Sergey流着泪，Sergey淡淡地笑，他和Roman至死不渝的爱在烈火中涅槃。

他们在暗室里潜滋暗长的情愫；在树林里终于深情的相拥；在Sochi的海边沐浴于阳光中，宛若出世般的纯净与幸福。一切转瞬即逝。一年过去了，四年过去了，几十年过去了，不知不觉的时节如流，爱，从未曾改变。但昔年的你，又去往了何方？天空中那飞翔的蓝色鸽子啊。

乌克兰演员奥列格·扎戈罗德尼 Oleg Zagorodnii饰演的Roman帅出了新的高度。他就是Roman。

我看完之后有被剧情和画面震撼到，立马去官网看了下幕后导演故事，导演2011年看到了谢尔盖（电影主角原型）写的传记《关于罗曼的记忆》，读完非常喜欢然后决定写电影剧本作为自己的第一部电影作品，几年之后剧本完成，2014遇到了tom（饰演谢尔盖的演员），tom加入了剧本创作，2016年两人去俄罗斯和谢尔盖见面，又了解了大量的细节使剧本更加丰满，2017年演员确定开始排练，2021年在电影节上映。

电影的三角恋让我想起了之前看的《橘衫男子》，同样的军官和士兵，军官和女人结婚生子。

另外浴火鸟的取景摄像和画面调色都太厉害了，画面质感在同性片里面绝对超过了大部分的电影，改编自真实故事让电影里感情更加动容。

不得不说谢尔盖年轻的时候很帅，典型的俄罗斯长相，演员有些神似，不知道罗曼的原型是什么样子，应该和扮演他的演员一样英姿飒爽吧。

今年最喜欢的电影。

70年代的苏联已进入一种非常微妙的社会，虽然克格勃的监视无处不在，但全方位的松动是真的，年轻人可以像欧美青年一样穿着古巴领大谈西方哲学与戏剧，人们可以在婚宴上毫不违和地鼓动新人亲吻，军队的图书馆里也借得到莎士比亚的书，甚至二人在部队时的情感被上尉看得一清二楚也当做看不见……这些都给“欲断未断”的同性情感提供了潜在的机会。

二人独处洗胶卷时，军官对谢尔盖产生了好感，特别是听到他说“当你拍摄照片时，有一些东西就永远消失了，一个永不再现的时刻”，那一刻，可以称之为：“心动”。

他说“叫我罗曼”。他扶着有点微醺的谢尔盖，四目相对，很想抱一抱他，但显然此时还为时尚早。于是，他开始反复试探谢尔盖：在车上听到谢尔盖讲述和同年玩伴的故事，听到他们互相在信上署名“Valentine”时有那么一瞬的错愕，旋即又放松；在草坪上问他“你有女朋友吗？”，对方回答“No”时，心中似乎有了点信心。直到躲避边境警察的巡察时，他满怀希望地望向他，忍不住靠近、嘴唇相抵，谢尔盖先是惊讶，不过几秒也开始接纳并给予回应，双手相扣，迎接一场波罗的海的大雨——罗曼不知道的是，从接过那卷他送他的胶卷起，谢尔盖也已对自己动心：在车上偷偷瞄这位新来的年轻、英俊的上级，听他谦逊却不谦卑地回应同僚的质疑，也看到他不经意间瞥见自己的眼神；冲洗胶卷时，些许紧张地一边看自己的手被对方轻轻握着，一边听他在耳边像电流般说话。但是他还是想逃走——这样做的风险太大了，即便已明显从对方望向自己的眼神中看到了相同的气质与味道。

然而，除了克格勃外，这种艰难维持的情感在后期遭遇了更普世、也更软性的考验：来自妻子、家庭，以及内心的矛盾，等等。

婚后，罗曼的很多行为放在当代中国或其他任何社会，都会被贴上“渣男”标签，他可以在结婚当晚面对谢尔盖的靠近依旧止不住将嘴唇靠近，可以在四年后告诉妻子前往莫斯科进修实则只是想见见谢尔盖，可以塞给对方一张火车票说“我有一个礼拜的假期”言下之意即邀请对方与自己偷情，可以在三人过圣诞时拼命地察言观色不让自己妻子瞧出真相……一切都太熟悉了，似乎是所有已婚Gay都会做的事情。所以越到最后，他越是无法接受自己在路易莎和谢尔盖之间不断寻求平衡与周全，他前往阿富汗战场，直接原因是谢尔盖的离开且说“不要再来找我”，但根源还在于内心深处长年积累下来的悔意：“我害怕去伤害我爱的人，我害怕再分裂自己了，同时属于每一个人”。

同样之于谢尔盖，或许很多行为也会被人冠以“男小三”的称号：他可以一边在剧场说狄德罗的台词：“欺骗自己，同时也欺骗他人，这种活在欺骗中的人会慢慢地不去尊重任何人、任何事”，一边又忍不住跑去火车上与罗曼相见，并前往索契偷情。路易莎来莫斯科时，他可以一边怨恨罗曼把自己当做一个普通演员，甚至就差赶自己走，一边又去买圣诞树并且回到那个不属于他的家，假装只是个客人。而他相比罗曼唯一的光辉，或许是从未结婚，从未去伤害另一个女子，而是独自终老。

二人都是过于矛盾的人，也都是不够干脆的人，站在局外人的角度，这种当断不断的情感处理方式让我很不喜欢，但他们有其他选择吗？或许从道德上讲，把这些关系捋捋清楚很简单，但要从情感的角度，把所有的思念和爱都狠狠割断，非当事人并不能轻易置喙。毕竟当谢尔盖在犹豫之后选择去火车上相见，望着对方，两个人都喜笑颜开时的眼神，除了“爱”，没有什么可解释。

But what is there to consider?

但这有什么好考虑的呢，

I can’t choose for fear of hurting those I love.

我害怕伤害到我爱的人，所以我没有选择。

I can’t divide myself any longer and belong to everyone at the same time.

我不能把自己分开来同时属于所有人。

Please don’t wait for me.

请你不要等我，

Forget me.

忘记我。

I shall always think of you.

我会永远想念你。

No matter what life may bring,

无论生活变得如何，

I will always be there with you.

我会永远和你在一起。

From 《Firebird 》（2021）

1970年的苏联对于同性中的感情是禁止且规定了相关刑法。纵而使两个相爱的人被世俗狠狠地压在了深不见底的黑暗中。 “黑色的玫瑰和荆棘，微笑与泪水，它们种在一起，互相缠绕。” 片头的一句旁白，交待了这份复杂而注定没有结果的感情。 “一个永远不会出现的时刻，犹如一个逃避世界的幽灵……” 谢尔盖得知罗曼的婚礼后，他不知道该如何处理这段感情 ，他最后的挣扎，罗曼的一句她怀孕了，使谢尔盖崩溃……唯一的选择是逃离与忘却“so hard ”这段感情，我努力尝试过忘却它………他们在契索的那段画面，让观众沉迷于其中，谢尔盖的爱胜过了罗曼对他的伤害，两人无忧无虑的样子却始终逃脱不了现实。圣诞节那天，路易莎的到来，使一切烟消云散，谢尔盖独自出门，买了一颗圣诞树。当路易莎到来时，他见证了罗曼的生活：活泼可爱的孩子，相爱的夫妻，一个幸福洋溢的家庭，与自己相比呢？又能算什么。当路易莎问：“谢尔盖，你有没有遇到生命中特别的人？” “罗曼……还有你。”谢尔盖的话亦真亦假，他知道，他们之间的爱是不见天日。最终，谢尔盖选择了逃避，为了罗曼，也为了所有人。“罗曼，我们之间的爱，只能存在于没有时间与思想的地方，你不该再来找我了………” 再次回来时，谢尔盖收到了罗曼离开时的信：“谢尔盖，我没什么可考虑的，我不会再次伤害我爱的人，不会再分裂自己，去属于每个人……” “谢尔盖，说和做，思考和生活，是不同的………”“谢尔盖，我选择了让我自由的地方，是天空，Forget me，我将永远和你在一起。” 画面的接近尾声时，谢尔盖走到了他们曾经游泳的地方，此时，已经一片冰凉……如同他们之间的爱，无论过程多么热烈，结果都会凄凉。仅仅是因为人们眼中的世俗与规矩。“love is love”爱亦是爱，谢尔盖对路易莎说：“我们之间的爱不逊于你的爱”。尾声时，谢尔盖，身处于剧院中心，而舞台上的戏剧，正是当年罗曼带他观赏的第一部戏剧“火鸟” 罗曼站在谢尔盖身旁，慢慢的离去。犹如他从没来过谢尔盖的世界，或是说，这段感情从来没有存在过…… 如开头一样，它是不见天日的…… 如果没有现实生活中老年谢尔盖的叙述《A Tale About Roman》关于罗曼，我们也许永远不会知道这个发生于1970年代两个苏联军人的爱情。爱亦是爱，它胜过了一切，无论是同性还是异性，它们都存在，是不可抹去的。

（文章首发于公众号【当代基友图鉴】）

据说这是2021颜值最高的部dui虐恋。鱼水之欢，迷彩硬汉，绝对让你欲罢不能。

1、

当提到“兵哥哥”时，脑海里第一时间会浮现出怎样的画面？

是炮火连天里，手持长枪，勇往直前的战士；

还是男性群聚，封闭空间中，满屏炸裂的荷尔蒙；

亦或是特殊身份背后

森严规矩无处不在

拘束克制却心潮澎湃的同性生死绝恋？

若再添上

夏日、小树林、浅海、逼仄居室，战斗机

你又会联想到什么？

电影《浴火鸟》

故事发生于1970年代冷战时期的苏联jun营。

冷战、前苏联、军dui

当这些要素交织在一起

这部影片的基调注定是冷色系的。

正如电影开篇：

“黑荆棘和玫瑰，微笑和泪水共存，长在一起，彼此接近。”

谢尔盖（Tom Prior饰）

一名即将退伍的应征兵

正处于人生的重要十字路口。

留守jun营？告老还乡？还是莫斯科追梦？

未曾释怀的少年往事与约定

如心结，萦绕在谢尔盖脑海。

罗曼（Oleg Zagorodnii饰）

一名空军中尉

英俊帅气，意气风发，懂一点文学和艺术

前途无量，被上司看好。

两人因拍照工作产生交集。

借由谈论摄影拉近距离

以此为契机，迸发了第一次情感碰撞。

试探、眉目传情、浅尝辄止

如鼓琴瑟，留宿顺理成章。

令人无限遐想的“冲印教学”

深夜去暗恋的长官宿舍

激动着，盈笑着，偷尝禁果。

那夜过后，二人假公济私

谢尔盖借为上司驱车为名，与罗曼剧院约会。

赏剧结束，雨中嬉闹，你侬我侬

偶遇巡查边防军，两人就像窃贼，落荒而逃

有惊无险的顷刻，不忘林中巫云楚雨。

部dui里的同性爱恋，自然不会一蹴而就。

谢尔盖的异性好友路易莎，亦对中尉产生倾慕

罗曼和谢尔盖热恋期间，路易莎发起强烈攻势

中尉摇摆不定。

不知是否碰巧，一次罗曼和路易莎约会出行

随行拍摄的是谢尔盖。

他内心想必五味杂陈

一边是挚爱，一边是好友。

无法拒绝，强颜欢笑，又带点私心

这个略带动摇的拍摄举动

无不显现他内心的矛盾。

傍晚，灯光幽暗房间里

“生存还是毁灭，这是一个问题？”

谢尔盖若有所思道。

屋内灯突然熄灭

人影悄悄靠近，是那个熟悉的男人轮廓

电光火石之间，夜色下，罗曼拉着谢尔盖奔向海边。

明面是正统的男欢女爱，内底是禁忌的同性之恋。

正如后来谢尔盖的自白：

“我们的爱只能存在于没有思想，没有时间的地方

同性之爱不被允许。”

匿名举报信，指认中尉和不知名应征兵苟且偷情。

谢尔盖九死一生，躲过一劫

或是害怕影响前途；或是想保全谢尔盖

罗曼此后划清界限。

再见旧人，已然物是人非。

罗曼和路易莎的婚宴上，两个男人找到谈话机会，短暂叙旧。

四年之别

罗曼不请自来，借由工作名义

独居谢尔盖所在的莫斯科

谢尔盖几经纠结，答应罗曼的索契之约。

但是，二人之间早已有一道无法跨越的鸿沟

犹如墙壁裂痕。

是冰冷制度的存在；是和路易斯的事实婚姻。

这段跨越数载的同性之恋，将何去何从？

2

《浴火鸟》基于真实往事，原型是俄罗斯已故演员Sergey Fetisov（1952–2017）的自述回忆录《The Story of Roman》。

1970年，大国对峙的格局，固化观念即将分崩离析

一切即将迎来新生，一切依然饱受桎梏

内心因爱而炽热，好似喷薄欲出

禁忌之恋的种子在压抑的笼罩下萌芽。

须时刻谨言慎行，如履薄冰。

正如电影主创团队所说：

“Risk everything. Trust no one.

万事皆风险，无人可信赖”

这也是《浴火鸟》含有惊悚片标签的原因。

时代洪流之中，小人物的命运如雨打浮萍。

电影的背景地——前苏联（通常指代俄罗斯）

自20世纪30年代开始，同性恋刑罪化。

全盛时期的苏联

少数群体，看不见未来的光。

所幸的是，《浴火鸟》制片地区

曾经苏联同盟国——爱沙尼亚

已于2014年承认同性恋婚姻合法

成为了第一个立法保障同性权益的前苏联国家。

关于“jun营里的同性恋”，不得不提美国。

其中，引人注目的是“不问，不说”——针对军dui同性恋政策。

此政策由克林顿时期的美国国会确立。

1993年的美国，同志反对情绪虽不至电影般谈虎色变，却仍是敏感话题。

克林顿总统上任时，积极推动同性恋者可公开身份平等参军服役。但遭到了部分国会议员和军dui高官的反对。如反对派代表，海军的克雷格·奎格利表示：

“同性恋者可谓是恶名昭彰，性生活混乱，他们的存在，会让异性恋者感到极为不便。”

诸多反对压力让克林顿政府妥协。颁布了《不问，不说》。

“不问”是指，虽不支持同性恋者参军，但长官不得询问性向，不得无足够证据时对成员进行取向调查。“不说”指，只要成员不公开取向，长官就不被允许揭露、驱逐。

“不问不说”在时代背景下，一定程度上保护了性少数群体的权利，但其主导思想依旧是消极的。政策传达的潜在意思是：你可以是同，但不能公开。你必须深柜，我们只保护哑巴的权利。

运作数年中，依然有数以千计的出柜者被迫害，亦有很多如同《浴火鸟》中男主的士兵，被强迫调查。惊悚害怕、如履薄冰。

2008年，大选中的奥巴马不畏压力，支持全面废除军中禁止同性恋服役的各项法律。最终2011年，美军同性恋群体终于结束了17年的强迫深柜生活。

《不问，不说》的实行，使美国花费近2亿美元用于招募和训练，替代那些因身份遭到开除的士兵。哪怕是细分领域的军事精英——仅仅因为他们是同性恋。

讽刺的是，同性恋群体参军并没有带来所谓的“败坏军dui”负面影响。正如美国心理学会（2004）的研究：

“实际证据并不能显示性取向与团队一致性、士气、招募士兵和留在部dui中等军事有效性有任何联系。”

历史上，同性恋者的军dui曾发挥积极作用。

在古希腊，军事统帅一度认为由同性恋组成的军dui是最有战斗力的军队，因为他们的“亲密无间”是忠诚和奋不顾身的最好保障。

著名的古希腊底比斯圣队，由150对“少年之爱”伴侣组成的精英队伍，在留克特拉战役中起了关键作用，成功驱赶侵略者斯巴达的军dui，保卫了家园。

在战场上，同性恋战士们会为了彼此而战，因为没人愿意在爱人面前丢脸，为了自己的爱人，他们往往会奋不顾身，英勇作战，如果战斗失利，生死与共的恋人们需要死战到底，共赴生死，并且，在危急时刻，他们甚至会为了爱人而牺牲自己的生命。

腓力二世后来视察战场，看到每两具尸体紧紧挨在一起，知道这就是著名的全部由相爱的勇士组成的“圣军”，抑制不住眼泪，说道：

“无论是谁，只要怀疑这些人的行为或者经历是卑劣的，都应该被毁灭。”

这种“同志群体”的军dui成员才特有的强大羁绊力量。

2014年，荷兰海牙战略研究中心发布一份103个国家地区的军dui对LGBT的包容度报告，新西兰军fang对LGBT的包容度最高，中国大陆排名第62位，尼日利亚倒数第1，仅3分。

路漫漫其修远兮，仍需上下而求索。

作者scott

Firebird is an epic Queer love story set in a tense Soviet Union. This unconventional film followed the romance of Sergey, played by Tom Prior, and Roman, played by Ukrainian hunk, Oleg Lobykin.

Set in the 1970's Cold War, Firebird is an incredibly stylish film. The visuals feel authentic and true to its setting. But surprisingly, there are bouts of action, adding more thrill to a story that is already anxiety inducing.

Another twist is that the film explores a love triangle between Roman, Sergey, and Roman's partner, Luisa- played by Diana Pozharskaya.

This part of the world has always been incredibly hostile to LGBT+ people. It is common to see an attempt to erase Queer people from the histories and identities of post-Soviet countries. From the 'LGBT free zones' in Poland; the Gay Propaganda Laws in Russia - to the toxic political discourse in Hungary - 'Firebird' is a symbol of Queer existence throughout history. It is a statement that Queer love is not a modern and Western construct, but it is imbedded in the fabric of humanity. And this piece of history- beautifully shown in the film- is a shining example that the #TheNewEastisQueer, and it always has been.

In this interview, the writer/lead actor, Tom Prior and director/writer Peeter Rebane talk about the true story of 'Firebird', its making, and what it was like to meet the real Sergey.

EAST: Where did you first meet each other?

TOM: I was doing some work in Los Angeles, and a film financier that I was meeting- by coincidence- mentioned that she heard about the story of Firebird- which was under a different name at the time- and promised to introduce me to Peeter. Then we basically connected and I read the script, and fell in love with it instantly. It was when the draft of the screenplay was at a very early stage, and that’s really where it began.

EAST: Peeter, when did you first discover the story?

PEETER: That was over 10 years ago. A friend of mine- who founded the ‘Black Nights Film Festival’ in Tallinn- she received the original story from a Russian journalist showing it around at the Berlinale, and she knew that I was looking for material for my first film. So I read it over a weekend at home, I literally cried and decided that I have to turn this into a film and then started writing for the first time ever.

EAST: ’The New East is Queer’ is a campaign to debunk the myth that Queer people don’t exist in Eastern Europe and Post-Soviet States. Yet here is a queer love story set in Soviet Russia. Were you conscious of this when deciding to make the movie? Did you feel a sense of duty to tell the story?

PEETER: Foremost, I was taken a back by the universal love story. I was also fascinated and really surprised when I read the original manuscript that such a relationship could have actually existed in the Soviet airforce. Then we went on to interview people who served in the Soviet military in the 1970’s and found out that many such relationships existed, and we were also fortunate enough to interview Sergey in Moscow. But at the same time I do feel also that it is important to share this story in light of the real horrors that are going on in Russia and especially in Chechnya today. It is important to remind people about the importance of love and how such relationships have existed throughout the ages.

TOM: For me its really important to share these messages. But we were very true when we said we made this film- not for political reasons- but for about love, love wins. Sergey’s character in the film is really about following his heart. There are terrible atrocities happening, but being able to make movies like this, we are effectively being that very change that we want to see in the world.

EAST: How was Roman cast?

PEETER: That was a really long process. We set a very clear intention to find the most authentic actors that are believable to the true story. So we did a world wide casting, and got 2,500 submissions for the role of Roman. For months we were casting in Europe and the UK, to Moscow. One day in Moscow, Oleg walked in the room and everyone was like: “That’s our Roman”.

EAST: How was it working with Oleg?

TOM: It was a really fascinating process as Peeter said. We just knew from the minute he walked in the room that it was right, this kind of presence. When you talk about casting in a film, you really are casting a person as you are a performer. He had this real presence and he was the nearest person that we felt was Roman, and so, our journey began. Because he is not a native speaker, at all, in fact he had a very small amount of English when we began the project. It has its challenges, and in some ways it actually helped, to a degree, because it meant that we couldn’t communicate as freely as we would, say in a modern day context in English- which serves the story in an amazing way. Because at the time there was no language around the subject matter. Today we are in a very liberal society where we can begin to scale that in a very easy and transparent way, but at the time there wasn’t that. So it bought a really interesting dynamic to the film. Working with Oleg was a real pleasure but it of course it had its challenges as well: cultural background differences, and things like that. But it was a really beautiful working relationship.

EAST: Tom, you were a writer as well as an actor in ‘Firebird’. How did this come about?

TOM: When Peeter and I met- and fell in love with the story- at that time we didn’t have the financing in place to make the film. So we made a teaser for the film, and the scenes that we selected for the teaser. I made some suggestions about how we might improve the script a bit, and the lines and the nature of the lines. I have a real sensitivity to being able to produce texts or language of how people actually speak- as oppose to how people one would think people speak- this is something I am quite sensitive to. So I made these few suggestions on how we might improve the script and that ended up several pages of notes and ended up as several weeks of work, which ended up being overall significant rewrites and redrafts and restructures- and doing lots and lots more research. Then by that point, the script was completely a different animal to what I first came to. So we took the strong elements of that and then imbedded in a lot more research.

EAST: Thats an interesting point. After stalking your Instagram its quite clear that you are a spiritual person and quite centred. Did these qualities help you in your writing or acting?

TOM: Most definitely. For me this project has been quite extraordinary, in the sense of the level of depth that I have been able to get to. Writing the content, for sure, is a whole other level as a performer. Then also meeting the real Sergey, we interviewed him in Moscow, we also very tragically went to his funeral. He passed away in the time that we were developing the story, and it was a very surreal moment for me, to be at the funeral of a person whose life you have extended in the literary form, and who you will play in real life. So there were very strong moments during the time filming that there was this awareness that Sergey was with us, or certainly the energy. For me, having a real level of emergence within the project meant that the emotion came easily, or the stream of conscienceless, lets say. It was very profound and beautiful for the opportunity to do that as a performer.

EAST: And when you met Sergey Fetisov, what were your impressions of him, and did these impressions influence the way you played or wrote about him?

TOM: Very much so. It was an honour to meet him, and he was so very full of heart. He was a very heart-led man. You could tell that he had such a sunny persona, and despite having had a lot of trials and tribulations in love, he was bold and happy. So I bought that level of following your heart, and that bounciness to the performance- where I could - without making it seem to out of context at the same time.

EAST: And for you Peeter, how was it meeting Sergey Fetisov, and did this impact the way you directed the film?

PEETER: As Tom said, he was an amazingly warm and heartfelt person, considering what he had gone through in his life, and how these experiences had made him loving and not hating. I think he definitely informed how we developed the character, and it was an amazing treasure trove speaking to him about actual details, like: what were their favourite pieces of music; what were their favourite foods; which music they would play to each other; which books would they read; which theatre plays they went to see. It all kind of built a world, and helped us to be very authentic in directing and staging the film.

EAST: Peeter, being from Estonia, was there anything about your heritage and personal identity that you bought to the project?

PEETER: Definitely, when I was a very young boy I still recall the Soviet occupation, and our summer house was actually the airforce base where this story takes place. I have this distinct memory of my friend being on this bicycle and these two MiG’s (Mikoyan-Gurevich) flying overhead at maybe 150 feet, and us literally falling off the bicycles because the noise was so deafening. So I have a very strong personal connection, besides having grown up with this feeling of shame about ones sexuality, having to hide your true identity, and the surrounding environment lacking understanding and being ignorant. So, a lot of parallels for me.

EAST: How much history is in the story?

PEETER: I think its, well I don’t dare to say 100%, but I think its 99% historically correct. The events happening, the small details of the airforce base, the setting, we really made our upmost to make a film that looks and feels like the 1970’s could have looked and felt like.

EAST: And there seems to be a big military presence in the film.

PEETER: From the directing perspective, we had amazing consultants. We had a retired airforce base, a retired Soviet airforce base commander, flight pilot, a person who worked in the command centre, who directed all the flights. We had a lot of people who literally went through the script, went through the dialogues, who were on the set with us, telling us to do it like this, or do it this way. We put trust in not making a Hollywood version of what someone envisages, but in thorough research.

TOM: The intricacy of the details is very particular, I mean, even when it comes to the radio announcements, and things like that, and the calling in’s to the planes and the lights from the command centre and everything- its all very accurate. We did the best research to our knowledge, to make sure that it was as real as possible, and the same really with the job titles, the job roles. The military consultants in particular were very useful and an intrinsic part of the training for the performance: the way we would walk; the hand salutes; all this military realism that actually happened, and making sure that the attention to detail- our costume department were really great around that also. So, the military aspects of the film, even this accident, there was an accident sequence within the film as well, which was in the original story, and I was absolutely adamant we had to put it into the film, to give it this military flare, instead of having it simply as a backdrop, but actually as an action sequence, this was really paramount and important to me, to ground it into the real world.

EAST: Any personal highlights from onset?

Peeter: I think for me one of the most amazing shots was the last shot of the film. Without giving away too much, it lasts about 1.5 minutes, and the camera is going into Sergey, and technically it was huge challenge for our team to pull it off, but also performance wise, for Tom to act out all the different emotions, truthfully, being surrounded by 50 or 60 extras, and knowing that we can’t cut, and that this is all real time, one very long take.

TOM: Its a very unforgiving shot, lets put it that way. I’m very proud of that moment, and what came through. It was one of those moments that I was speaking out earlier, where there was this profound connection. I started experiencing some very curious things, emotionally. It was like being show the end of ones life, but I was experiencing it in the real time, which was quite curious. For me, the highlight and more significant highlights of the film was really my personal growth. That to me is a huge success. As a measure of success, it challenged me emotionally, physically, spiritually, and now its a sort of standing point, as a physical manifestation of what one can achieve when there are so many odds against you and challenges and time limiting factors, and all those kind of things. So yeah, we can have a whole other discussion of that for the highlights. But we were so blessed, to have such a wonderful committed and loyal team who were willing to go way above standard hours, the commitment was astounding.

EAST: Peeter, did you learn anything about yourself personally or professionally during this project?

PEETER: Absolutely, first of all it was my first full length feature. I have done documentaries, but that’s a whole different game. Learning all the nuances of directing on the set of the feature, and actually doing a pretty challenging script. We shot in the air, under the water, in the baltic sea, staged Hamlet in theatre, staged the full production of Firebird, including costumes and choreography, dancers and sets- a lot of very specific scenes. It was very challenging and I had a lot of personal growth during this process, over the last couple of years.

TOM: I think for me also, as I mentioned, the physical challenges, the stamina, keeping up your health, mental clarity and sharpness through longer days, and resilience through that. Some days there would be, 5, 6, 7, 8 costume changes, multiple different set environments, we would have to change them very quickly as well. I would be sitting on the train, where we would shoot the train sequences, and moving from one emotional state to another, within minutes, and the whole world of the character has changed and gone upside down in that time. So, to be able to tune in to that energy, that emotional change very quickly, was really amazing. And to also play a lead in a film, there is this overwhelming pressure that you can put on yourself, and to scale that, was for me, a real joy and a real challenge, at times. To stay centred, to stay focussed, and to know what we have got to do and what we are there to do, and yeah, this was a really beautiful example of change and growth, and long hours, knowing that you can do it, and you have got to get through it.

EAST: How relevant do you think the story is for todays audience?

Tom: For me, the story is very relevant in terms of following your heart. We live in a world which is probably more divided than ever, with regards to health, with regards to beliefs and perceptions. It is a standing point for following your heart. Actually, if you choose to walk that path, its not necessarily going to be the easiest route, but its probably somewhat the most rewarding- in terms of being able to feel and develop as a person. The film is about following ones heart and ones desires against all the odds, and against the laws of the country and the environment in which somebody grows up in. I hope this is a standing point of inspiration to follow your heart, to love daringly, that would be my wish and hope for its relevance today.

EAST: Do you have any plans to show this to Eastern audiences?

Peeter: Absolutely, we will distribute the film across the world. We trust we will be at some festivals in the summer, also Autumn, late October- and end of the year we will have a wider distribution across the region. So, I guess we will see how the world is as we open, and depending on how much we will be in cinemas. But definitely, we will be on all major platforms across Europe.

'Firebird' premiered at the 2021 BFI Flare Festival on 17th March 2021 and is available to stream on the BFI Player until 28th March 2021.