Locked Eyes Leads To Lust & Heats Up Cold War Era Gay Love Story ‘Firebird’

Hot off its successful world-wide festival run of sold-out screenings and numerous awards, including playing LA’s Outfest, NYC’s NewFest, San Francisco’s Frameline, and London’s BFI Flare, Roadside Attractions has acquired North American distribution rights to Peeter Rebane’s critically-acclaimed theatrical feature directorial debut, Firebird.

Firebird, based on the true story of Sergey Fetisov, as detailed in his memoir A Tale about Roman, follows Sergey (Tom Prior), who is serving his two-year military conscription (which was mandatory at the time for Soviet men) at an airbase when he meets a young fighter pilot named Roman (Oleg Zagordnii).

Their furtive romance immediately puts their lives in jeopardy, as the eyes of KGB are around every corner.

And a love triangle involving the Commander’s own personal secretary, Luisa (Diana Pozharskaya), further threatens to expose them.. In addition to starring in the film, the screenplay is co-written by Prior, along with director Peeter Rebane.

Firebird has won the Audience Award for Best Feature at the Rainbow Visions Film Festival in Edmonton, Canada. ???? Thank you to everyone who saw #FirebirdMovie and voted! ???? @rvffyeg pic.twitter.com/kAFACSeQ24

— FIREBIRD (@FirebirdMovie) November 23, 2021

Set in the Soviet Union during the Cold War, Firebird was shot in English with an international cast on location in Estonia and Russia with extraordinary production design and period detail.

Sergey is a soulful, young soldier who dreams of becoming an actor in Moscow, is counting the days until his military service ends. His life turned upside down when he locks eyes with Roman the sexy, enigmatic ace fighter pilot newly assigned to his base. Driven by their undeniable attraction, Sergey and Roman navigate the precarious line between love and friendship at a time when Soviet men in uniform caught having a sexual affair was met with the severest punishment. As their friendship grows into love, the men risk their freedom and their lives to be together in the face of an all-seeing Soviet regime.

The film faced its own subterfuge reaching Russian audiences last year after being blacklisted by the government. Deadline: The Side by Side LGBT Film Festival, which takes place annually in St Petersburg, Russia, has had its website taken down by authorities in a move that the organizers say was provoked by an orchestrated campaign of complaints from ultra-right-wing groups. The event is taking place entirely online this year due to the pandemic. Its online cinema theater remains up because it is hosted by a third party, but the fest’s main website and subdomains, including the program, are inaccessible at present. Established in 2008 by Manny de Guerre, Side by Side is a key LGBT event in Russia. It has been targeted by hate groups before, including during last year’s physical edition when the event was disrupted by a homophobic campaign. “Instead of investigating the film festival, Russian authorities should be investigating the organizers of such cyber attacks,” Rebane told Deadline.

We are so proud to see #FirebirdMovie playing @sidebysideff St Petersburg from today! Russia’s only major LGBT film festival opens with a Q&A with director Peeter Rebane, @TomPriorActor and Oleg Zagorodnii tonight at 20:00 (GMT+3) – register now https://t.co/VRttIr4Xhz pic.twitter.com/v5LEa9WANQ

— FIREBIRD (@FirebirdMovie) November 11, 2021

The Roadside exclusive theatrical release rolls into theaters April 29, 2022.