From Russia with love

A festival tour brings together history, imagination and the growing bond between two movie industries, Xu Fan reports.

From the fantasy romance I Am Dragon to the world's first feature film shot in outer space, The Challenge, Russian cinema has repeatedly showcased its unique charm, carving out a niche in China's increasingly diverse film market.

That tradition continued this month with the recent 2025 Russian Film Festival, which traveled to three cities — Beijing, Xining in Qinghai province, and Lanzhou in Gansu province — screening a total of eight movies between Sept 1 and 12.

His Name Was Not Listed, the opening film of the festival, is adapted from the eponymous novel penned by Russian writer Boris Vasilyev, whose most famous work familiar to a generation of Chinese audiences is the 1969 novel The Dawns Here Are Quiet.

The story of the film opens on June 21, 1941, the day before the Defense of the Brest Fortress — the first major battle of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. A young lieutenant, newly assigned to permanent service, rushes to join his unit at the fortress. Before he can even be officially registered with the garrison, artillery fire erupts at 4 am, marking the brutal beginning of a siege that would rage for 10 months.

Sergei Korotaev, the film's director, tells China Daily that he had long been immersed in the novel's world and felt bound to the pain and courage of its protagonist, whose love for his motherland drives him to fight against overwhelming odds.

The director goes on to elaborate on the novel's enduring legacy, saying: "It's a classic whose magic has never faded with time. Interestingly, the film's release in Russia sparked a renewed passion for the book — sales surged by nearly 70 percent."

Brest, formerly known as Brest-Litovsk and Brest-on-the-Bug, is now a city in southwestern Belarus on the border with Poland. Its defense remains a symbol of resistance and sacrifice.