Private Project

Generation P

Victor Ginzburg’s film Generation P is, in many ways, built on hallucinations, including Che Guevara’s speech on how television destroys man. But this parallel, virtual universe also offers a glimpse of real life in Moscow’s meticulously reconstructed Roaring 1990s, where the real plot unfolds. Babylen Tatarsky, having rediscovered himself as an employee of an advertisement agency, is busy concocting marketing campaigns for western brands, adapting them to the “Russian mentality.” Packed with special effects and unexpected revelations, the film tells the story of how former Soviet Komsomol Youth turned into advertisers in the service of the Goddess Ishtar, and how the Pepsi Generation chose Coca-Cola.Though delivered in the rapid-patter style of classic Thirties screwball farce, the mordant and ironic humor of Generation P, adapted from Victor Pelevin's iconic Russian bestseller, has more in common with the metaphysical modernity of Williams Burroughs and Gibson. Set in the ground zero of gangster globalism and driven by a truly manic energy, Generation P is at once a comedy, a tragedy, and a documentary fantasy about the disappearing lines between above and below, government and business, legal and illegal, and reality and digitally manufactured doubles.

  • Victor Ginzburg
    Director
  • Victor Ginzburg
    Writer
  • Djina Ginzburg
    Writer
  • Victor Pelevin
    Writer
  • Victor Ginzburg
    Producer
  • Vadimir Yepifantsev
    Key Cast
    "Babylen "
  • Mikhail Yefremov
    Key Cast
    "Azadovsky "
  • Vladimir Menshov
    Key Cast
    "Farseikin"
    Moscow Doesn't Believe in Tears
  • Oleg Taktarov
    Key Cast
    "Vovchik"
    National Treasure
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Generation П
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Drama, Sci Fi
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 52 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    April 14, 2011
  • Production Budget:
    7,000,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Russian Federation
  • Country of Filming:
    Russian Federation
  • Language:
    Russian
  • Shooting Format:
    35 mm
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:35
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Toronto International Film Festival
    Toronto
    Canada
    September 13, 2011
    North American Premier
    Official Selection
  • New Directors / New Films at MoMA and Lincoln Center
    New York
    United States
    March 27, 2011
    NY Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Palm Springs International Film Festival
    Palm Springs
    United States
    Nominated for Best Foreign Film
  • Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
    Karlovy Vary
    Czech Republic
    July 9, 2011
    International Premiere
    Special Jury Award
  • Mumbai International Film Festival
    Mumbai
    India
    October 11, 2011
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Victor Ginzburg

Born in Moscow, raised in New York and making Venice Beach, CA his home, Victor got his start directing music videos and commercials, while still attending SVA Film School in NY.

In 1991, when the Soviet Union opened its borders, Ginzburg traveled back to his birthplace to film an underground documentary about counterculture and the sexual revolution taking place during the waning days of the Soviet empire. The Restless Garden ("Neskouchny Garden") captured a unique moment in history - the power of free will, expressed through eroticism, but behind these bright new freedoms were clear signs of a darker future ahead. In the new Russia everything was for sale. The Restless Garden premiered at the Amsterdam Documentary Film Festival, participated in numerous international festivals and was released theatrically on the US art-house circuit.

Perhaps Ginzburg is best known for the film Generation P, which he directed, co-wrote and produced. The story follows a former poet living in reduced circumstances who finds himself drawn into the world of advertising. He soon discovers (well ahead of post-social media Western interpretations) that the entire world is nothing but advertising, – and never more so than when campaigning for high office as he creates and elects a virtual Putin-like president of Russia. Released theatrically in Russia and the US to critical and box-office success the film participated in over 20 international film festivals. It was the official selection of the Vanguard Program of the Toronto IFF and ND/NF at MOMA/ Lincoln Center, received Special Jury Prize at the Karlovy Vary IFF and the Best Foreign Film nomination at the Palm Springs IFF.

In 2022 Ginzburg completed the third film of his “Russian Trilogy” – Empire V, which he wrote and directed, is an epic adaptation of the bestselling novel by Victor Pelevin, revealing the conspiracy of the Russian elite against its people, ruled by a cult of money, blood and beauty. The film was banned by the Russian government for political reasons, a week before the theatrical release by Sony Pictures. Festival participation and worldwide theatrical release are being planned.

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