On May 16, 2025, at 17:45 in Cinema Hall Arcades, Cannes audiences will witness the premiere of “Vysotsky. Unknown… A True Story,” a new film by Anatoly Balchev and Apollo Film Production.
Unlike traditional biopics, Balchev — a director, writer, composer, and a close friend of Vysotsky since 1974 — offers a first-hand, unvarnished chronicle of the poet’s life. The film draws from rare archives, private collections, and contemporary recollections, painting a portrait of Vysotsky that is alive, passionate, exhausted, and deeply human.
The film is created with the artistic partnership of SGS Studio (Dubai), a leader in digital arts innovation. The cast includes friends and contemporaries of Vysotsky: Marina Vlady, Lyudmila Abramova, Vsevolod Abdulov, Mikhail Shemyakin, Bella Akhmadulina, and others.
Anna Shtukkert, Apollo Film Production’s European partner and a curator of cultural initiatives, helps bring the film to global attention.
Alongside this project, SGS Studio is preparing “Entropy: Requiem of Water,” a major digital show based on Klaus Schulze’s music, and has previously released “The History of the Tragic Century in the Rhymes of Vladimir Vysotsky.”
“Vysotsky. Unknown… A True Story” stands out as a work of deep truth and personal vision — exactly the kind of film that Cannes audiences cherish.
Apollo Film Production, with IFREE Studio, is also launching another Vysotsky-inspired film: “They Will Not Erect a Monument to Me in the Park…”
