"Where are you?" by Veronika Korzhevskaya: the main family drama of the summer was presented in Moscow.

      On June 18, the premiere of the melodrama "Where Are You?" took place at Nikita Mikhalkov's "Workshop 12" — a feature film by director Veronika Korzhevskaya. The film addresses one of the most pressing social issues of our time — the search for missing children and the fate of families confronted with such a tragedy. The film will be released in theaters on June 25 in the "Cinema Park" chain.

      The premiere was attended by representatives from the film industry, media, public organizations, and the cultural community. Among the guests of the evening were Eduard Boyakov, Dmitry Dyuzhev, Alexey Goreslavsky, Oleg Haas, Mikhail Guray, Alexander Tsoy, Daria Beloded, Taras Kuzmin, Oleg Ternovoy (TERNOVOY), Maria Nikolaeva, Varvara Shevchenko, Elizaveta Mills, Alexander and Olga Belkovich, Alexandra Tikhonova, Dmitry Moskov, Victoria Butskikh, Ilya Noskov, Evgenia Akhremenko, Alyona Chekhova, Anastasia Godunova, and many others. Key members of the film crew were present at the premiere, including the lead actors Nikita Volkov, Anna Bogomolova, Karina Cross, Andrey Rozhkov, Taras Kuzmin, and Oleg Savtsov, who participated in the official program of the event.

      The plot centers around a family whose life collapses in an instant after the disappearance of their three-month-old son. Six years later, each spouse tries to cope with the tragedy in their own way: the father does not give up searching for the child and continues to live in hope, while the mother tries to piece herself back together and start life anew. Experiencing the pain of loss differently, they gradually drift apart but remain connected by a shared tragedy and the question each seeks to answer. This question is encapsulated in the film's title and is directed not only at the characters but also at every viewer: "Where are you?"

      Director Veronika Korzhevskaya shared that working on the film became a significant professional and personal experience for her: "For me, this story is primarily about love, compassion, and the ability of a person to maintain hope even when it seems that there is no hope left. Our entire team dreamed of creating a film that would not only emotionally touch the viewers but also help draw society's attention to a problem that cannot be ignored."

      The main character, Maxim, is played by Nikita Volkov, known for his roles in the series "Difficult Teenagers" and "Knock on My Door in Moscow." The latter is the Russian equivalent of the famous Turkish series "Knock on My Door," where the actor took on the role of the Russian Serkan Bolat. Nikita admitted that participating in the project became a deeply personal story for him: "I am a father of two children myself. To go through a story where your child is taken away is incredibly difficult. I want to wish all parents — find your children. Not only in the literal sense but also in a metaphorical sense: go into their room, ask how they feel, what games they play, what they are interested in. I want to believe that I am a good father, but after this work, I have become even more sensitive to my children, valuing every minute spent with them in a new way. My mentor, Yuri Nikolaevich Butusov, loved to remind us: 'Don't waste your time.' And I sincerely wish all parents not to miss the time you can spend with your children."

      The wife — Anna — is played by the namesake of the character, Anna Bogomolova, who starred in the film "Master and Margarita," and the series "Blondes," "Strings," "Lada Gold," and "Combination." The actress shared that working on the image of the mother of a missing child required her to deeply immerse herself emotionally: "During the filming, I imagined that the missing boy was truly my son, and I experienced all the emotions for real. I grew up in a large family and helped raise younger brothers and sisters. I know firsthand what it's like when a baby cries at night, you can't sleep, and you're exhausted. Therefore, many nuances of motherhood were familiar to me. I hope that in the future I will become a mother myself and be able to feel these moments even deeper. I thought a lot about the choice of my character: why she leaves her husband after her son's disappearance and starts a new life. And I came to the conclusion that it doesn't matter what path she chooses. The main thing is that she survived and preserved herself. And however she achieves this, it is a true feat."

      Throughout the work on the film — from creating the script to the filming process — the team was accompanied by members of the search and rescue squad "Lisa Alert." One of the most experienced coordinators of the squad, Andrey Chernov, shared his impressions of the project and spoke about the current situation regarding the search for missing children in Russia: "The plot of the film is deeply relevant and directly resonates with the reality we live in. Every 30 minutes, a child goes missing in Russia. Every six hours, another one, whose search yields no results. About 4,000 children a year are never found by their families. Statistically, more people go missing than die in traffic accidents. Since the beginning of the film's shooting to this day, our squad has received about 28,000 requests for the search for missing children. Of these, 118 are still not found. And we never stop searching until each of them returns home."

      By the time of the Moscow screening, the film had already received recognition from the professional community: it was awarded "Best Acting Debut" at the "Amur Autumn" festival in Blagoveshchensk, closed the "Kinomaevka" in Crimea, and entered the main competition of the "New Movement" review in Veliky Novgorod. The cast includes stars of Russian cinema: Valeri Zoidova, remembered by viewers for her role as Anfisa in the hit series "King and Jester" and Agatha in the series "Passions for Matvey"; award-winning actor Yuri Chursin, laureate of the "Triumph," "Seagull," and "Vivat, Cinema of Russia!" awards; and Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Olesya Zheleznyak.

      Director Veronika Korzhevskaya admitted that she was inspired by Soviet cinematic traditions — simple yet profound stories about the fate of a person when creating the film. Previously, she directed the short film "On the Other Side of the Vineyard" featuring Nadezhda Mikhalkova and the documentary "The Path" about a journey along the Trans-Siberian Railway. For her first feature film, Korzhevskaya worked with creative producer Alexey Nuzhny, whose portfolio includes projects such as "I Am Losing Weight," "Tolia the Robot," and "The Bremen Musicians." The screenplay was written by Sergey Novikov, who previously worked on the series "Vineyard," and Natalia Milyavskaya, involved in the creation of the films "Zhdun" and "Pirates of the Galaxy Barracuda." The music for the film was composed by Svetlana Retunskaya.

      The project was realized with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Yuri and Marina Shamara Foundation for the Development of Social Initiatives, JSC "AvtoVAZ," the "Mriya" resort, and the search and rescue squad "Lisa Alert." Production was handled by LLC "Pik Media," and distribution by "Cinema Park." Information partners included: radio station "Hit FM," portal "Kinoafisha.Info," industry resource "Movistart," magazine "OK!," and publications The Voice Mag, "7 Days," "Typical Moscow," "Daily Moscow." Communication partner: the agency of comprehensive communication solutions Prophet.

      Link to the trailerLink to the posters