EVERYBODY DIES BUT ME

A school disco, starting at 5pm on Saturday – a rare and thrilling announcement from the headteacher’s mouth. Katya, Vika and Zhanna, three 14-yearold Muscovites, are beside themselves with excitement. The debut feature of 1984-born Valeria Gai Germanika, who so far made documentaries, shows the lead-up to the party and the big night itself. Shot by hand-held camera, the film draws an authentic portrait of adolescents in a Russian suburb. In lengthy, uninterrupted shots we see the trio coping with authoritarian parents, nasty older girls, and a severe test of their oath of unconditional friendship. Bleakness alternates with surplus zest for life and dreams of true love, and an affectionate if drastic picture unfolds of the grinding daily round and the small chinks of light.