| Stilyagi / Hipsters | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Valery Todorovsky |
| Written by | Yuriy Korotkov Valeriy Todorovskiy |
| Starring | Anton Shagin Oksana Akinshina Evgeniya Khirivskaya Maksim Matveev Igor Voynarovskiy Ekaterina Vilkova |
| Distributed by | Red Arrow |
| Release date(s) | 2008 |
| Running time | 120 min. (screen) 136 min. (DVD) |
| Country | Russia |
| Language | Russian (English subtitles) |
Stilyagi (Russian: Стиляги) is a 2008 Russian film, named Hipsters for its American release. It is a musical that deals with Soviet youth subculture "stilyagi" ("hipsters" or literally "obsessed with fashion") of the 1950s.[1]
Hipsters has been featured at the Toronto International Film Festival, Nashville Film Festival, and the Cleveland International Film Festival, where it has been an audience favorite. It won the Audience Choice Award at the Anchorage International Film Festival in 2009 and several Golden Eagle Awards and prestigious Nika Awards, including Best Film in both.[2]
Mels[3], a member of Komsomol (the youth wing of Soviet Communist Party), helps break up a stilyagi party. He briefly meets and is intrigued by a hip girl named Polly, who invites him to hang out with her friends on "Broadway." Mels is drawn into their world of colorful fashions, dancing, and loud music. He purchases a saxophone off the black market and grows out his hair. His old friends shun him, but he remains refreshingly optimistic.