Strarring in «20 Cigarettes» is the first role of Anna Solynko, an actress of Saint Pertersburgh Youth theatre, in the so called «big cinematography». Anna, lively, cincere, red-head, enlighted Vyborg by coming to the «Otkrytoje Okno» («Open Window») festival to present the first full-screen movie where she starred as a spoilt and whimsical daughter of «iron» business lady played by Galina Tjunina. And now, please, meet Anna Solynko.

Vyborg is my native town. I lived here since I was five. My grandma’s appartment was on the street nearby the station. I have always looked at the «Druzhba» hotel as if it was something unreachable, because foreigners (the Finns) staid there. It’s great to come to this city again with something significant like the role and the movie.

Tell us how did you get involved with the «20 Cigarettes» project?

Casting was an extreme. Fist there was a call from Sasha Goronovsky, whom I knew by the only student’s film, where we starred together. I didn’t even think he was a film director, since I knew him as an actor. Once in autumn when I had plenty of work and I din’t know how to manage with the stage and the work in TV series at the same time, there came a call from Sasha: «I sent you the script, please, read it».

What was your first reaction?

I understand the character, one can often meet girls like her. A typical girl, spoilt by money and her mother. I told this to Sasha, we discussed some working issues and suddenly there came a call from the producer: “Could you, please, fly to Moscow tonight?” I was met at the airport. Producer, film director, make-up people, costumiers and actress Galina Tjunina were there to look at me. Galina is the real professional. She said she must meet the girl who was going to play her screen daughter: “I won’t be able to enter the picture not knowing who this person is. We must see each other first, because I’m her mother”. That is what I call professionalism. Whatever our working schedule is we ought to have time to look into each other’s eyes.

But you play on the stage... Does that mean that two theatre persons have met?

Theatre makes one more disciplined. I didn’t know Galya by her works in the movies. But «The Theater of Peter Fomenko» is of the highest rate for me. I realize whom people are talking about when they talk about one of it’s actors. «Fomekees» are one of the best troupes in our country. It is really a model for me.

One more «Fomenko» actor… Ilya Lubumov impressed me as well. We haven’t met at work before (I only intersected with Oscar Kuchera in «The Streets Of Broken Lights»). When I first met Ilya, he asked me: «Well, how do you manage with everything in your life? How many projects are you in?»- «One, two, three and the theatre». – «Do you actually manage to combine it all in your head?» He had such a positive impression on me that it seemed to me we’d known each other for years. He told me a lot about his teacher Peter Fomenko and I felt there is a tremendous connection between them. In a good way I envy those who have a teacher like him. Ilya was a great and a very handsome partner, it was a real pleasure to work with him. We all were a very nice team – make-up people, costumiers, administrators, who meet you in the morning and see you to the door in the evening. Permanent support is very important. I think one always feels it in the film.

Please, tell us about your main character.

It seems to me she took too much of something that wasn’t hers in life, took something from life not actually lived through by herself. Even the fact that she smokes is not hers, something assumed and dictated by shallow wants. I tried on the image of the girl who grew up without her father but with a very business-oriented mother, who had absolutely no time for communication and up-bringing. Nothing unites the mother and her daughter, except for habits. Lisa is a lonely little teenager, uncertain of her wants, which do not correspond neither with her character nor with her age.

One can sense some kind of nerve, suffering and depth in her. It gives hope for all the generation.

If one can feel the nerve – it’s great. I’m sure, she will ask herself lots of questions and suffer. In general «20 Cigarettes» is a movie about a young man, who has strength but is not able to manage with something most important. All the day he is going to visit his wife at the maternity home, but something keeps him away from this, he can’t possibly get out of the continious round of events of life which establishes new severe laws. Mass Media changed people’s worldview nowadays. Advertising gets into one’s own private life. At a certain moment one experiences some powerful emotion –then comes the ad and new associations and reflexes appear in one’s soul, getting an influence over life afterwards. In this situation one finds it immencely hard to get out of this system, this matrix, and finds it hard to remain oneself.

There are many interesting scenes in the film such as fights and pusits... Please tell us how the filming process went on.

Oh, there was plenty of stuff! An Ighuana was supposed to live in my Lisa’s appartment. I remember the moment they brought the creature to the film site and put it into a terrarium. It started to hit the glass when being loked up in it. Lord, it was a poor frightened animal... Something was wrong either with the light or with the temperature, the owner of the animal was very concerned, but then everything settled. As for the pursuits... I enjoyed these scenes a lot. It was our first filming day with Ilya Lubimov. We sat in the car and imagined many crazy things. We didn’t include them into the film (we said: «It’s too much!»), but this gave us passion and spirit. There was one more funny thing: my character was weraring artificial nails, which I personally never wear in real life. That was a disaster for me! Once I got into a car, at least one of them was gone all of a sudden. In the scene, when I start to fight the main character with a pillow – all the ten nails disappear. Then we all try to find them all on the floor and glue them back. I kept these nails, for I always keep something small from the films I star in...

Do yu mean the producer doesn’t know about it?..

Of course, he does. The’ll make a good memory of the filming process in «20 cigarettes».