A Short Film
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.
Written, Directed & Produced by VADIM EGOUL
Produced by 9th Street Films, Saine Productions
For the feature film in development, click here.
The Filmmakers
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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.
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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.
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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.
CAST
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ARI KHAVIN
ANDREI
Ari is an exciting up-and-coming actor, as well as a singer, musician and freelance video editor. For his performance in the lead role of Andrei, he was able to pull from his own experiences growing up as the child of Russian immigrants.
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MAXIM BOUFFARD
MAX
Maxim is a trilingual actor and freelance filmmaker from Paris, with time spent in a handful of countries across the globe. His theater credits include playing Leontes in THE WINTER’S TALE at The Globe Theatre in London, as well as many roles in the Rutgers Theatre Company.
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YANA MULDER
ANNA
Yana was born in Ulyanovsk and raised in Magadan, Russia. Her acting credits include the Amazon Prime series PORTE RICHMOND, for which she received a Best Comedic Actress award at the Southeast Regional Film Festival. She has also worked as a TV reporter for several television networks in Moscow and New York.
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SIMON VAL
ERIK
Simon has appeared in several feature and short films and has performed on Broadway and off-Broadway stages. He was a finalist in the 2021 Texas Dream Night singing competition and has released several original songs on major streaming platforms. He’s also a nationally ranked epee fencer with multiple regional and national medals.
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NICHOLAS ZOTO
DANNY
Nicholas is an actor based in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He started acting at a young age, doing print work for TOYS R US and CRAYOLA CRAYONS. Since, he has appeared in multiple feature and short films, including THE KITCHEN and WEIGHTLESS.
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KYLEE JACOBY
KATIE
Kylee is an actress based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She has starred in numerous short films, as well as the TV mini-series LIFE IN USA.
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ELLA AYBERK
LINDA
Ella was born in Northern Caucasus, Soviet Union and trained by the faculty of the Moscow Art Theater School under the mentorship of award-winning director Adolf Shapiro. Her many credits include FX’s THE AMERICANS and the Peacock TV series MACGRUBER.
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MIKE SUTTON
RAY
Mike, based in Philadelphia, has performed in over 160 feature films, short films, TV shows, web series and commercials. His credits include the Netflix series HOUSE OF CARDS and the HBO Max series WE OWN THIS CITY.
Director’s Statement
Our short film, 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 hoped 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.
We shot the film 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.
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.
I hope you enjoy the film and look forward to hearing from you.
