Music among the stars
On Friday night on the 90th floor of one of the Moscow City towers, Ian Maksin will perform a concert on his cello accompanied by his group Zaria. The Russian-American musician sings and plays a fusion of music inspired by the Balkans, South America, the Middle East, Mongolia and other places he has lived and visited. The concert will take place on an open space overlooking the panorama of Moscow, which will be spectacular for everyone who loves drama and has no fear of heights. The concert will be held at 7:30 p.m., and tickets range in price from 1200 to 2000 rubles. More information and tickets purchase can be found here.
Arch-Moscow: Architecture and Design Festival
June 3-6 Gostiny Dvor is the venue for the 16 th annual international festival of all things connected with where we live and work and play in Moscow. The festival is organized around three concepts: Now - The Future - The Ideal. If you are thinking of moving to a new neighborhood, considering some home repairs, need to update your interior, are interested in getting a design or architecture degree, or are just curious about how Moscow might change in the future — or if you just love architectural models — be sure to drop in. More information here.
Beat Film Festival
This weekend Moscow is hosting the 12th International Beat Film Festival of documentary films, both on- and offline. Filmlovers all over Russia will be able to watch the movies through June 20 on the KinoPoisk HD online theater. There is much to see, but here are some of our picks.
Music enthusiasts shouldn’t miss “Laurent Garnier: Off the Record,” June 5 at the Oktyabr Theater, followed by Q&A with Laurent Garnier. “One Man and His Shoes” tells the story of Michael Jordan’s business empire: from an unlikely Nike deal in 1984 to exclusive footwear. A public talk will follow the screening on June 5 at Oktyabr. Another highlight of the program is “I am Gen Z” — an attempt to find out how the digital revolution has affected mental health, relationships and society.
“Girls Can’t Surf” tells the story of the struggle for equality in the surfing communities of the U.S., South Africa and Australia. The program also includes biopics about stars like Moby, St. Vincent and Wim Wenders. Other films focus on untold stories, like the unsolved hijacking of a Boeing (“The Mystery of D.B. Cooper”) or a dramatic production in a provincial English bus park (“Alien on Stage”).
The national competition features 14 Russian films by young directors. All films, which are shown in the original language, will have multiple offline screenings. For more information in English and Russian, as well as ticket purchases, see the festival website.
For other-dimensional children
If your child is eight years old or older and is interested in 3-D virtual reality — which probably describes almost every child these days — consider letting him or her go wild in a studio to learn how to create another world. The technology allows the small creators to inhabit the world they are creating. They can paint and bring to life shining stars, raging fires, sparkling waterfalls or anything else they can imagine. An instructor will help them, and they get to take their creation home with them. Instruction and assistance is in Russian and costs from 800 to 1600 rubles for a 90 minute session. For more information and reservations, see the site here.
Start the week on a noir note
The Pioner Movie Theater decided to celebrate opening up with a mini-festival called “Finally Back at the Movies” Monday through Wednesday of next week. On screen will be your favorite oldies but goodies: “The Maltese Falcon”; “The Third Man”: a Soviet film from 1955 by Iosif Kheifits called “The Rumantsev Case” about a criminal band; and “Quai des Orfèvres” by Henri-Georges Clouzot. All will be shown on the big screen in the original language with Russian subtitles. These weekend you can see “Cruella” and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” For more information and ticket purchases, see the theater site.
