Ward No. 6

Karen Shakhnazarov’s WARD NO. 6 updates Anton Chekhov’s short story to the present day, chronicling one man’s descent into madness. Based upon a real-life incident, the story follows a doctor (Vladimir Ilyin, Best Actor winner at the Moscow International Film Festival) who ends up as a patient in the insane asylum he once led.

The film was a passion project for Shakhnazarov, who originally wrote the script in 1988 with Marcello Mastroianni set to star. It was shot in a real mental institution on the outskirts of Moscow with supporting roles played by actual patients.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKER: The head of legendary Russian studio Mosfilm since 1998, Karen Shakhnazarov’s career as a filmmaker stretches back to the 1970s. His credits as director include Jazzmen (1983), Zero City (1988), The Tsar’s Assassin (1993), The Rider Named Death (1994) and The Vanished Empire (2008).

“[A] nostalgist with a particular attraction to the October Revolution and its precursor skirmishes… [Shakhnazarov has] a wry attitude towards life under the Soviet Umbrella.” (Michael Atkinson, Boston Phoenix)

WARD NO. 6 is Russia's official submission to the Best Foreign Language Film Category of the 82nd Annual Academy Awards (2010).