THE MAKING OF THE FILM

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- This project is known under the working title "Motherland". What caused the name
change?
- I really wanted the film to be called Rodina, we still call it that way among ourselves. But the fact is that recently a lot of films and TV series have been released with the same or very similar name: the film by Pyotr Buslov “Motherland”, the American TV series “Motherland” of eight seasons, the Russian TV series “Where the Motherland Begins”. This could confuse viewers: some people may simply not think that this is a re-release, a remake of a Hollywood blockbuster, or a theatrical version of a series. We cannot deny the fact that some viewers choose the film by name, they decided to rename the picture to Goodbye America. We had many options, for example, "Ours", "Ours", "Little Russia".It seems to me that Goodbye America is the most appropriate one. This is a story about people who emigrated to America, but still longing for their homeland.
- Please tell us about the key idea of the movie "Goodbye America"?
- Homeland is not just a place where we were born. This concept includes many more meanings: childhood, mother, emotional connection, a place where we felt good. Even when we move from one city to another, we still miss our "small homeland", because the homeland is, first of all, memories.The heroes of the movie "Goodbye America" live in the USA, but it doesn't matter, they could live in any other foreign country. This is not a political movie, I created it because the topic is close to me. I myself am an emigrant and I well understand what it means
to move to another country, what changes it entails.
- What is the genre of this picture?
- I tell the story of emigration in a melodramatic form. This is not a comedy with chases, pursuits, fights, when they run, jump and stumble on a banana peel. The genre of our picture can rather be defined as "dramedy" - a fusion of drama and lyrical comedy. I would really like to compare my film with the French comedy "1 + 1", it is such a laugh through tears.The action of the film "Goodbye America" takes place in the USA, in a small area of Los Angeles, where
Russian-speaking immigrants live, their houses are located next door. The film shows 3-4 days from the life of this area. We wanted to show that no matter how many years ago a person moved, he sustains its culture and traditions from their motherland.
- How was the shooting in America carried out, did you collect a large film expedition?
- We arrived there together with the second director, and already there we began to assemble a group of Russian-speaking professionals who had emigrated. We did not turn to Hollywood specialists, it was all done by our own people, who have been living there for several decades. They understand what it means to be an emigrant and enjoyed making this movie.We chose locations, gathered a group, and then the artists arrived. A month of filming was planned in advance to the smallest detail, because popular artists are busy people, they need to be warned
at least a year before filming begins. They are involved in several projects at the same time. It is impossible to combine filming in America with performances in a theater in Russia, we had to take this factor into account when planning. Some actors who we approached could not participate in the project, although they really wanted to.In general, the shooting in the USA went well, then we finished shooting some episodes in Russia, and now we are almost finishing work on the picture.
- Were American actors involved in the film?
- We have American actors who starred in cameo roles. They were found by a local casting director, they played great, but their roles are not central to the film. For example, when the heroes of the film come to a restaurant, the locals talk to them in English. But there are no central American characters in the film, all are Russian-speaking. This is also a story about the fact that no matter how people assimilate, they still try not to lose their roots. I think this happens in any country and any city where there are communities, diasporas, churches.
- How did you select the actors for the main roles?
- I specifically wrote the main role for Dmitry Nagiyev. I did not tell him about this, there was no agreement that he would definitely joint the project.But I wrote the script in the hope that he would agree. In the end, it happened.The first version of the script I created 2-3 years ago, I also wrote one of the roles for Yuri Stoyanov. He immediately agreed, he liked the story, all this time he was waiting for filming. I proposed a role to the actress Elizaveta Moryak when she played in my film “Girls are Different”. According to the script, I needed a Jewish girl for one of
the roles in the film "Goodbye, America", when I met the actress, I realized that she most closely matches this image.
- What post-production work is being done now?
- At the "Morning of the Motherland" festival we will show not the final version of the film, because we will not have time to "re-sound" all the artists and finish all the schedule. Thank God that there is not much of it in the film, it is realistic, and by "graphics" I mean the production of titles and some auxiliary and purely technical things.
We will watch the reaction of the audience in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Perhaps after that you will want to remount something already in the version for theatrical release. Post-production is fast, for me it is an understandable and familiar process that I have gone through many times. We carry out color correction, voice over, make titles. The hardest part, as usual, is to agree on a schedule for the voice actors. Now I really want to release the film, like any artist, I am waiting for the audience's attention and ratings.

- What are your impressions of the sound post-production at the technical base of Mosfilm?
- I've been working here all my life on all my projects. "Mosfilm" is chosen by my post-production specialists: if they feel comfortable here, then I feel comfortable here too. I think that the artists are also comfortable here. I know that Mosfilm is constantly updating its base, equipment, and technical specialists keep talking to me about this. I think that the work at Mosfilm's Tonstudio is excellently organized, and excellent conditions have been created for sound post-production.