In April 2020, the TV series "Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes" was launched on the Rossiya TV channel. The plot is based on the book of the same name by Guzel Yakhina. This picture is not just the story of a dispossessed peasant woman named Zuleikha, it is the story of the whole country by her example. On the territory of Russia there is not a single family that would not have been touched in one way or another by the repression of the 30s. Viewers agreed that the series literally breaks the soul. We decided to tell the readers where the series “Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes” (2019) was filmed: in which city, on which river, and show the photo.
Details about the series
Plot
Events unfold in the winter of 1930. The Tatar peasant woman Zuleikha could not even imagine what hardships she would have to face - her husband was killed, she was dispossessed and sent to Siberia along the convict route. Zuleikha turns out to be one of thirty exiles who found themselves without food, warm clothes and shelter in a remote taiga. Here, neither nationality, nor past merits, nor what class you belonged to in your past life are no longer important. One thing is important - to defend your right to life. And for this you need to learn to forgive enemies and accept the fact that there is very little justice in the world.
Actors and their opinion about the picture
Director Egor Anashkin managed to assemble a truly stellar cast on the set located in the Perm Territory. The main role went to Chulpan Khamatova. In one of her interviews, the actress admitted that she did not expect that the film adaptation of "Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes" will cause so many positive and negative reviews.
The negative was mainly caused by the fact that, according to some viewers, the Tatar way of life was distorted in the picture. The fans of Stalin did not stand aside either, who generally stated that there was no talk of any repressions in the 30s, and the director, together with the author of the book, simply distorted the history of their people.
Among the actors who took part in the film, it is worth noting Evgeny Morozov, Yulia Peresild, Roman Madyanov, Sergey Makovetsky, Alexander Sirin, Elena Shevchenko and Rosa Khairullina.
Roman Madyanov, who played an OGPU employee in the drama, believes that the film managed to touch upon a very complex historical theme, and it is important that the audience responded to it. Many began to tell stories of their families related to dispossession and repression.
Sergei Makovetsky noted that he got a difficult, but very interesting role. It was very important for the actor to convey the state of his character, Professor Leibe, to reveal his madness and character, and he hopes that he succeeded.
Filming locations
Filming began in September 2018. Then the filmmakers could not imagine that many people would be interested in where the film "Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes" (2020) was filmed, and where the filming locations would be turned into tourist routes. We will try to answer the main questions - on which river the picture was filmed, show the filming locations on the map and clearly demonstrate in which area in Perm some scenes were filmed.
The series was partially filmed in Kazan. The footage shows the city's tourist center - the walls of the Spasskaya Tower of the Kazan Kremlin and Kremlevskaya Street. Residents of Kazan were lucky to take part in the series as extras.
Some fragments were also filmed in Chistopol, and the “role” of Angara in the drama was “played” by a completely different river - the shooting was carried out on the Kama, near Laishevo, in the places that locals call the Kama Sea. On the shore for the film, the village of Semruk was rebuilt, in which the heroes of the drama lived. After the release of the series on the screens, many were interested in how to get to Laishevo and admire the colorful local landscapes. After the end of the filming process, it was decided not to destroy the scenery, but to leave them as a tourist attraction.
Fans of the series can visit Semruk for free, after checking the address with local residents. It is located fifty kilometers from Kazan. The village fits perfectly into the surrounding landscape and is guarded to avoid acts of vandalism.
After watching the series "Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes" everyone will be able to visit this Siberian harsh place not far from Kazan and once again plunge into the atmosphere of the village in which the main characters lived.