Film of Graduate of St. Petersburg State University of Film and Television Selected for Pune Short Film Festival

The graduation work of director Timur Dubro (workshop of Victor Vasiliev) was selected for the competition programme of the 11th Pune Short Film Festival (India). Duel  tells a story about the enmity of twin brothers who have very different outlooks on life.

For the 11th time, a young but ambitious Pune Short Film Festival provides a platform for independent filmmakers to show their works and exchange experiences. Among the films selected for the festival this year is Timur Dubro's Duel - a story about a confrontation between twin brothers who personify two completely different views on life.

The director of the film explains what is being hidden behind a routine quarrel of the relatives:

It is not just a quarrel. Through the prism of the relationship between the two brothers, we view the opposition between the traditional and the progressive. It is not a rare case when such a polarization of society affects family ties. To enhance the effect, our main characters are twin brothers, similar in appearance, but opposite to each other in worldview and characters. Put in the Duel situation, they have to go till the end, unable to abandon their principles.

The defense of the diploma film was in June 2020. Vasily Stepanov, editor-in-chief of Seanсе, St. Petersburg film critic magazine, wrote a review on the film. He noted that it had taken a lot of effort to fit and reveal such a broad topic into a short film, but he was sure that the director would have had enough strength to make it into a full-length film, had there been a need for it. Vasily Stepanov also emphasized that Timur had his own vision as a director and taste for details.

The news that the organisers of the festival had selected the film for the competition programme made the entire film crew happy. Timur explained why even just the participation was a surprise for the team:

We have recently started a festival promotion of the film, and have already achieved the first results, which, of course, was a great joy for us. Our film has one significant drawback for short film festivals - its timing is 29 minutes. The standard footage for getting into the programme is 15-20 minutes, so we are happy at every opportunity to show our work to the audience. The fact that the film and the raised topic interested the organisers of the Indian festival was a big surprise! This probably indicates the mental closeness of our peoples and cultures.

We congratulate Timur on his successful start and wish the film a rich festival life and bright victories!