Feature Film in Development
A Russian immigrant teen comes of age in mid-2000s Philadelphia, balancing his overworked mother’s strict expectations with hopelessly emulating his abusive, drug-dealing big brother.
Writer/Director: VADIM EGOUL
9th Street Films, Saine Productions
Contact us to inquire about the screenplay and pitch deck.
The Filmmakers
-
![]()
VADIM EGOUL
WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER
Vadim was born in Kazakhstan and raised in Philadelphia. He directed, wrote and produced his debut short film WICKS, which premiered at the 2021 Coronado Island Film Festival where it won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Short. WICKS has played at film festivals across the country.
His latest short film, LOOKING UP, is a coming-of-age story of a Russian immigrant teen in mid-2000s Philadelphia. It serves as a proof of concept for the development of his first feature film.
Vadim also practices as an attorney in New York, holding a law degree from Georgetown University.
-
![]()
ANDRE BASSO
PRODUCER
Andre has worked in the film industry for over a decade as a producer, post-production supervisor, VFX artist, Flame artist and colorist. He has collaborated with notable independent filmmakers including Ramin Bahrani, Mynette Louie, Frank Hall Green and Chris Caldwell & Zeek Earl.
He recently produced the award-winning documentary SIXTH OF JUNE. He is currently in post-production on a comedy about American Politics, CAN’T LET IT GO, executive produced by Academy Award-winning writer, James Ivory.
-
![]()
SCOTT BURKHARDT
PRODUCER
Scott Burkhardt is a graduate of Columbia University's School of the Arts where he was a Dean's Scholar. He received grants for his work from New Line Cinema, the Milos Forman Foundation, The Caucus Foundation, and the Carole and Robert Daly Foundation.
His latest short film, GIRLS ARE STRONG HERE, won the 2021 Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Short @ IFF Boston and the 2022 Humanitas Prize for Best Short Film.
He has written for television (SMASH) and developed shows for NBC Universal and CBS Studios.
-
![]()
MATT SUTER
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Matt is the director of photography of the award-winning feature film LAST NIGHT IN ROZZIE, recipient of the Audience Award at the 2021 Cinequest Film Festival and Best Feature at the 2021 Julien Dubuque Int’l Film Festival. Matt has also shot two award-winning short films: LAST NIGHT IN ROZZIE and NO MONSTERS IN BERLIN.
As a member of the International Cinematographers Guild, Matt also works as a Digital Imaging Technician, most recently on NANNY, which won the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.
Director’s Statement
LOOKING UP explores a coming-of-age story in the context of a Russian immigrant family in mid-2000s Philadelphia. Despite the massive contingent of emigrants from Russia and Eastern Europe into the United States, this corner of America is scarcely seen on screen. Having grown up with caricatured Russian villains in movies, we aimed to craft an intimate portrait of a Russian-American family.
At the heart of this project, I hope to make a film I wish I could have seen when I was thirteen.
My family—Ukrainian father, Russian mother and two kids born in Kazakhstan—immigrated to Northeast Philadelphia after the Soviet Union collapsed. Thousands of others did the same, creating a community of similarly situated, hopeful Americans. This film stems from my own experiences within this community.
Our film centers around thirteen-year-old Andrei, whose search for adolescent identity takes place at the intersection of long-standing Russian traditions and the mid-2000s pop culture and Internet boom. In a loving household complicated by domestic violence and toxic masculinity, Andrei must define what it means to be a “man” far before he can grasp maturity, relying almost wholeheartedly on directions from elders and peers. As a thirteen-year-old, it feels impossible to purposefully navigate these crossroads. All Andrei can do is look up to someone who appears to know what he’s doing—his immaculately cool but abusive big brother, caught up in the same cycle. Through Andrei’s journey, our film explores why we choose our idols and how those choices foster or hinder our sense of identity.
We recently completed a 29-minute proof-of-concept short film, which was shot in Northeast Philadelphia in neighborhoods virtually unchanged over the last twenty years. We derived production design from local thrift stores and dusty garages, and we cast Russian or Eastern European immigrants in nearly all the roles.
Through the collaborative process of making this short, our vision for the feature film only became clearer. While the short is being submitted to film festivals, we are incredibly excited to continue development of the feature film.
