- Teodor Currentzis, Dau, Ukraine-Russia-Netherlands-Germany-Sweden, 2008. The Russian TV star tried hard to win the titular Lev Landau, in the biopic by Ilya Khrzhanovsky inside what amounted to his own totalitarian society. The unknown (unhinged?) Russian auteur took ten 2005 festival prizes for his debut as clout enough torule his third film like Vladimir Putin. For five years, Khrzhanovsky took over the Ukrainian city of Kharkov, pushed the $3.5m budget to $10m, re-built the Russian Science Academy’s Institute for Theoretical Physicson Europe’s largest set (12,000 square metres), ordered cast, crew andvisitors to dress and eat as in the Stalin-era – the film was even shot by Stalinesque hidden cameras and mikes. Apart from his leading lady, he also insisted on no actors – “the story to be told was impossible to act out.” And wanted a genius to play the Noble Prize-winning physicist – and scandalous ladykiller! – and found him in Currentzis., a Russian symphony conductor of Greek origin. The film, edited from 700 hours of footage, finally opened in January, 2019!
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 1