Cold Open · Essay · sep 20, 2023

How to Save a Dead Friend (2022): A Conversation With Marusya Syroechkovskaya

Set against the rise of Russia's authoritarian regime, filmmaker Marusya Syroechkovskaya's How to Save a Dead Friend is an homage to both a silenced generation and to her lover and best friend Kimi. A whirlwind of emotion capturing the specific intimacy of an anxious youth, a relationship tellingly universal that brings hope still in death. Speaking with Hugo, Marusya reveals the toils and costs of making this deeply personal film — and what the camera gave her that nothing else could.

By Elliot Bloom

Film Journalist · Celebrating Cinema

Set against the rise of Russia’s authoritarian regime, filmmaker Marusya Syroechkovskaya paints an homage to both a silenced generation and her lover and best friend Kimi. How to Save a Dead Friend (2022), is a whirlwind of emotions capturing a unique intimacy of an anxious youth, a relationship tellingly universal that brings hope still in death. Speaking with Hugo, Marusya reveals the toils and vulnerabilities of crafting a story from a catalogue of documented memories.

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