Film Screening: The Master and Margarita
Thursday, May 1, 2025 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm CET/GMT+1Filmtheater am Friedrichshain (Bötzowstrasse 1-5, 10407 Berlin)
Bard College Berlin is cohosting a public screening of The Master and Margarita, a successful adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov's novel that faced intense scrutiny and attack when it was released in Russia last year. Duma deputies and pro-war Russian propagandists called for its ban and demanded criminal charges against Michael Lockshin, its Russian-American director, who staked out a clear anti-war position from the moment of Russia's invasion. State loyalists in Russia were displeased by Lockshin's own public stance and the embedded messages of the film, an allegory for the dangers of squelching artistic and personal freedoms.
Despite (or maybe, even helped by) these attacks, the film’s reception among Russian audiences was overwhelmingly positive. Over 6 million tickets have been sold in Russia, without virtually any media support initially for the release. The film was in the top-8 highest grossing films in Russia ever, even though rated-R. This success also demonstrates the enduring appeal of Bulgakov’s text, with its blending of historical context with contemporary relevance. The novel, as Lockshin’s film makes clear, is an open critique of authoritarianism, censorship, terror, and other means by which the State wields power over its citizens.
Lockshin will be present at the screening and take part in a Q&A moderated by Joshua Yaffa, the writer-in-residence at Bard College Berlin, and who has covered Russia for The New Yorker for many years. The film will be screened in Russian with English subtitles.
Tickets can be purchased on the Yorck Kinogruppe website.
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