A CD cover of Ghosts of Avilovka original soundtrack
Ghosts of Avilovka (Призрак Авиловка) is an award winning YIA Novosti 8 part miniseries drama about the chronicle of 1983 Avilovka nuclear incident. It stars Vladik Porzinski, Nadyenka Olenova, Peter Koikov, and Yuri Mravinski among others and is directed by Emmerian born Yuktobanian Director Leo Gavrilovich . The series released in UYR in July 2006 on YIA Channel 2 and Svet TV and premiered in Osea and worldwide in October 2006.
Cast[]
Vladik Porzinski as Lieutenant Stephan Revnik
Nikolai Tsilevich as Major Dimitriev
Nadyenka Olenova as Zhenya Miroslova
Maria Mashenka as Zenechka Miroslova
Peter Koikov as Yakov Nevenski (head of Projekt "Grozhny)
Yuri Mravinski as Mayor Mikhailichenko
Vladimir Raklov as Pyotr Dubrovski (UYR's defense minister 1978-1982)
Storyline[]
The story of worst nuclear incident in human history, Avilovka was once a peaceful and serene city until 1950 when the government set up a classified military research facility in the city. The story begins in 1982 when a newly graduated officer, Lieutenant Revnik is being stationed in the city against his will to be stationed somewhere in the Kalugan borders He soon find himself taunted with a female scientist Zhenya Miroslova. The lovely tale turns into a tense drama when she predicts that the test of Yuktobania latest and most sophisticated dirty bomb codename "Grozhny" will be an utter failure and may lead to a disastrous event. Revnik and Miroslova soon find themselves trapped between the military interest to finish the research immediately and saving the lives of tens of thousand of Avilovka citizens.
Criticism and Receptions[]
The miniseries has recieved mostly good reception. Just a day after its premier, Association of Former Residents of Avilovka claimed that it was "a documentary level-accuracy". Good reception also came from bloggers around the world but a sharp criticism was given by The Osea Times' movies reviewers, they put "Not really that detail for a miniseries with a huge budget, and the story should have been more focused on the bureaucratic process that responsible for the slow evacuation process"
Production[]
The miniseries was filmed in 4 different locations; Cinigrad, Arkhangelsk Naval Port, AEZ (Avilovka Exclusion Zone) and Glazuny in Smolensk. The budget for Ghosts of Avilovka was reported for 35 million Zollars, it made the miniseries as the most expensive miniseries in TV history.
According to the latest news, an Osean Production Company is in negotiation with Director Gavrilovich to bring the miniseries into cinema
Episodes[]
- Motherland Calls (2 hours special premier); aired on YIA Channel 2, July 4th 2006
- Red Rose of Avilovka; aired on YIA Channel 2, July 11th 2006
- A difficult Choice; aired on YIA Channel 2, July 18th 2006
- "Projekt Grozhny"; aired on YIA Channel 2, July 25th 2006
- On the wake of disaster; aired on YIA Channel 2, August 1st 2006
- He who doesn't exist; aired on YIA Channel 2, August 8th 2006
- The faithful hours; aired on YIA Channel 2, August 15th 2006
- Aftermath, ghosts of Avilovka; aired on YIA Channel 2, August 22nd 2006
Awards[]
| Association | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 Cinigrad Film Festival | Best Lead Actor and Actress in Miniseries | Vladik Porzinski and Nadyenka Olenova | Won |
| Outstanding Miniseries | All cast | Won | |
| Best Supporting Actor/Actress | Maria Mashenka | Nominated | |
| 2006 Aquitaine Miniseries Award | Best Miniseries | All cast | Won |
| Best Director | Leo Gavrilovich | Won | |
| Best Soundtrack | Lauren OIeshuk | Nominated | |
| 2006 Usean Movie Association Award | Best Soundmixing and theme | Lauren OIeshuk | Won |
| Outstanding Miniseries Cinematography and Photography | Won | ||
| Best Storyline | Leo Gavrilovich & Konstantin Vogobaev | Won | |
| Best Leading Actor | Vladik Porzinski | Won | |
| 2006 Osean Film Academy Award | Best Leading Actor | Vladik Porzinski | Won |
| Best Leading Actress | Nadyenka Olenova | Won | |
| Outstanding Couple in Miniseries and Movies | Vladik Porzinski & Nadyenka Olenova | Nominated | |
| Best Director | Leo Gavrilovich | Won | |
| Best Acting Performance | Peter Koikov | Nominated | |
| Best Original Soundtrack | Lauren OIeshuk | Nominated | |
| 2006 World Historical Movies Forum Award | Best Historical Miniseries Production | Won | |
| Best Pre-Production Historical Research | Nominated |
Trivia[]
- "Ghosts of Avilovka" was the first miniseries to be taken directly in the AEZ.
- The Avilovka Disaster in 1982 marked the end of "Project Grozhny" for good and Yuktobanian Military abandoned the idea of dirty bomb/warhead altogether.
- According to a declassified military document, If the weapon pass its first tests, it'd be mounted on ballistic missiles and would be used for retaliation strike against densely populated city.
- Prior to the production of the miniseries, YIA scrambled more than 500 researchers to gather, and declassify important information and documents so the movie will be as historically accurate as possible.
- At first Director Leo Gavrilovich wanted to set Vika Gagarina as the lead actress (Vika Gagarina is known for her role in "Fighting The Shadow")
- Vladik Porzinski and Nadyenka Olenova was choosen by cast director Dragan Butkovski due to their educational and experience background. (Nadyenka graduated as a bachelor in Physics and Porzinski is a Systema fighter and once trained alongside the Naval Infantry for 2 years though he was never in a military service)
- In 2010 scientists International United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effect of Atomic Radiation came to assess the latest radiation effect of Avilovka Accident and one of them "Boudewijn Hemstede" a South Sotoan Scientist took the advantage to take a picture of him beside a radiation warning sign and a picture of him with a "as seen in Ghosts of Avilovka" sign
Gallery[]
