The King is Dead, Viva the King! Secrets of Palace Revolutions Continues.
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"We don't shoot documentary films at all, although we keep to historic authenticity, of course, as for historic individuals, situations and distribution of political forces. However, everybody knows there is neither absolute history nor absolute truth."
Svetlana Druzhinina
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Who doesn't dream about the temptation to delve into the murky depths of the passions and sins of the imperial dynasty! An opportunity to peer through the keyholes of imperial boudoirs and cabinets! With what pleasure we follow the developments of historical love intrigues... With what satisfaction do we witness the defeat of evil royal figures? Perhaps this explains the worldwide popularity of the novels and the screen versions of Fuechtwanger, Duma, and Druon. Their colorful images tell us of the relentless struggle for power, and the secret advances of famous lovers.
The production of a high quality TV series and mini-series is booming in Russia, where domestic productions are gaining a stronger foothold and ousting foreign competitors from Russian TV channels. For decades, Russia prided itself on its historical films, among them "Ivan the Terrible" and "Peter I" released in the 1940's, "The Young Russia", "The Royal Hunt" of the 1980's -1990's. Svetlana Druzhinina's brilliant historical TV series continues in the traditions of leading masters of costume dramas.
The arrival of Svetlana Druzhinina's "Vivat, Gardemariny" (Russian/German co-production) in the mid-80's, opened a new era in the production of high quality historical drama in Russia, and allowed viewers to follow the lives of invented characters into real situations, but the subject always remained true to historical facts. The success of "Vivat, Gardemariny" inspired Svetlana Druzhinina to begin an ambitious 25-part unique historical project "Secrets of Palace Revolutions. Russia, 18 th Century."
This unique historical project tells the story of the actual dramatic events covering the life of the Romanov Dynasty, during the battle for the throne after the death of Peter the Great. The story of the Russian monarchy in the 18th Century is full of contrasts, secrets and intrigues. This is the throne on which, after the death of Peter the Great, where powerful and unusual women reined: Catherine I, Anna Ioannovna, Anna Leopoldovna, Elizabeth Petrovna, and finally - Catherine the Great! Guards and favorites, intrigues and plots became the means of fight for the crown and its power. All the subjects of the films are based on actual historical documents, letters, and memoirs of witnesses to these events. 8 films from this cycle have already been produced. The collection includes "The Emperor's Will", "The Empress's Will", "I am the Tsar!", "The Fall of Goliath", "The Emperor's Second Bride", "The Death of the Young Emperor", "Vivat, Anna Ioanovna!" (With 2 new parts produced in 2006).
"Secrets of Palace Revolutions" was a great success among Russian TV viewers. The premier of "The Death of Young Emperor" was broadcast on TV Channel " Russia ", one of the major Russian TV Channels. The film had an incredible (rating of 9.2% with a share of 24.5%) and achieved a second place rating among the Top 10 weekly television series genres in Russia, just after the Brazilian television series "Terra Nostra", which received the first place rating during the same week. "Secrets of Palace Revolutions" is already known abroad. It has been sold to a number of Eastern European and Asian countries.
On behalf of the Russian government, Svetlana Druzhinia has permission to shoot her films in magnificent imperial Palaces, in particular, the Peterhof in St. Petersburg, and in the Kremlin in Moscow. She has a collection of costumes from the18th century. These costumes have museum value.
Svetlana Druzhinina is looking for co-production partners in order to continue the story about the Russian monarchy during the 18 th Century. Future films will reveal secrets behind the throne of some of the most powerful women in the world - Anna Leopoldovna, Elizabeth Petrovna, and Catherine the Great.
Svetlana Druzhinina: "The plot of "Secrets of Palace Revolutions" is based upon authentic documents, letters and memoirs written by those who were directly involved in the events the film focuses on. The script includes remarks and citations we picked from real documents. But of course, we had to resort to our fantasy to reconstruct some vague episodes of which there is scarce or almost no historical evidence. Documents are often changed by those who succeed to the throne, and upon careful reading, one discovers some "blank spaces" one can easily fill using one's imagination".
www.druzhinina.com |
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Svetlana Druzhinina wears a historical royal dress created by the best Russian couturier for "Secrets of Palace Revolutions (Monte-Carlo, 2005) 
In 2005, Svetlana Druzhinina was nominated at the 45 th Monte-Carlo Television Festival for the European Producer Award with her TV Series "Secrets of Palace Revolutions" Creative Biography
Vladimir Putin, President of Russian Federation, and Svetlana Druzhinina
Svetlana Druzhinina is an honored artist from the Russian Federation, director, scriptwriter, and actress. She owns Moscow based Film Studio "Sagittarius". She has more than 40 years experience of work in the film industry. She has played roles in 11 films. During the period between 1973 -1992, she produced and directed 8 films, (among them: "Accomplishment of Desires", "Dulcinea del Toboso", "Princess of Circus", "Vivat, Gardemariny!" TV series). Since 1994, Svetlana Druzhinina has been working on a 25-part historical project "Secrets of Palace Revolutions. Russia, 18th Century." She is a laureate of many festivals and a recipient of many State awards. Svetlana Druzhinina was rewarded by Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation for her outstanding achievements. |
