Welcome to our exclusive interview with the creative minds behind 'Firebird,' a groundbreaking film that transcends boundaries and challenges societal norms. Directed, co-written, and co-produced by Peeter Rebane in his feature directorial debut, 'Firebird' delves into the poignant narrative inspired by Sergey Fetisov's memoir, 'The Story of Roman.' Starring Tom Prior, who also played a pivotal role in its creation alongside Oleg Zagorodnii and Diana Pozharskaya, the film unfolds against the backdrop of the Soviet Air Force during the Cold War, unveiling a tale of forbidden love between a private and a fighter pilot.
'Firebird' made its mark on the global stage with its world premiere at the 35th BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival on 17 March 2021, captivating audiences with its authenticity and emotional depth. Recognized for its excellence, the film received accolades at the 45th Frameline: San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, where it earned an honorable mention for Best First Feature. Its impact reverberated further with a limited theatrical release in the United States by Roadside Attractions on 29 April 2022.
In the face of adversity, 'Firebird' emerges as more than a cinematic masterpiece; it stands as a beacon of LGBTQ+ representation, challenging the erasure and discrimination prevalent in post-Soviet societies. From the insidious 'LGBT free zones' in Poland to the stifling Gay Propaganda Laws in Russia and the divisive political rhetoric in Hungary, 'Firebird' resounds as a testament to the resilience and existence of queer love throughout history. It underscores that LGBTQ+ identities are not confined to modern Western constructs but are intrinsic threads in the tapestry of humanity.
Join us as we delve into the heart of 'Firebird' with its writer and lead actor, Tom Prior, and its visionary director and writer, Peeter Rebane. Together, they unravel the true story behind the film, its creative genesis, and the profound experience of encountering the real Sergey Fetisov.
*The video interview (above), which is also transcribed below, was conducted by the Pink Pickle, in 2021, under its previous name 'The New East is Queer.
EAST: Where did you first meet each other?
TOM: I was doing some work in Los Angeles, and a film financier that I was meeting - by coincidence - mentioned that she had heard about the story of Firebird, which was under a different name at the time, and promised to introduce me to Peeter. Then we basically connected, and I read the script and fell in love with it instantly. It was when the draft of the screenplay was at a very early stage, and that’s really where it began.
EAST: Peeter, when did you first discover the story?
PEETER: That was over 10 years ago. A friend of mine - who founded the ‘Black Nights Film Festival’ in Tallinn - received the original story from a Russian journalist showing it around at the Berlinale. She knew that I was looking for material for my first film. So I read it over a weekend at home, I literally cried, and decided that I had to turn this into a film. Then I started writing for the first time ever.
EAST: ’The New East is Queer’ is a campaign to debunk the myth that queer people don’t exist in Eastern Europe and Post-Soviet States. Yet here is a queer love story set in Soviet Russia. Were you conscious of this when deciding to make the movie? Did you feel a sense of duty to tell the story?
PEETER: Foremost, I was taken aback by the universal love story. I was also fascinated and really surprised when I read the original manuscript that such a relationship could have actually existed in the Soviet air force. Then we went on to interview people who served in the Soviet military in the 1970s and found out that many such relationships existed. We were also fortunate enough to interview Sergey in Moscow. But at the same time, I do feel that it is important to share this story in light of the real horrors that are going on in Russia and especially in Chechnya today. It is important to remind people about the importance of love and how such relationships have existed throughout the ages.
TOM: For me, it's really important to share these messages. But we were very true when we said we made this film not for political reasons, but for love. Love wins. Sergey’s character in the film is really about following his heart. There are terrible atrocities happening, but being able to make movies like this, we are effectively being the very change that we want to see in the world.
EAST: How was Roman cast?
PEETER: That was a really long process. We set a very clear intention to find the most authentic actors believable to the true story. So we did a worldwide casting and received 2,500 submissions for the role of Roman. For months, we were casting in Europe and the UK, and then we went to Moscow. One day in Moscow, Oleg walked into the room, and everyone was like, “That’s our Roman.”
EAST: How was it working with Oleg?
TOM: It was a really fascinating process, as Peeter said. We just knew from the minute he walked into the room that it was right, his kind of presence. When you talk about casting in a film, you really are casting a person as much as you are casting a performer. He had this real presence, and he was the nearest person we felt was Roman, and so our journey began. Because he is not a native speaker at all, in fact, he had very little English when we began the project. It had its challenges, and in some ways, it actually helped to a degree because it meant that we couldn’t communicate as freely as we would, say, in a modern-day context in English, which serves the story in an amazing way. Because at the time, there was no language around the subject matter. Today, we are in a very liberal society where we can begin to discuss that in a very easy and transparent way, but at the time, there wasn’t that. So it brought a really interesting dynamic to the film. Working with Oleg was a real pleasure, but of course, it had its challenges as well: cultural background differences and things like that. But it was a really beautiful working relationship.
EAST: Tom, you were a writer as well as an actor in ‘Firebird’. How did this come about?
TOM: When Peeter and I met—and fell in love with the story—at that time, we didn’t have the financing in place to make the film. So we made a teaser for the film, and in selecting scenes for the teaser, I made some suggestions about how we might improve the script, the lines, and the nature of the dialogue. I have a real sensitivity to being able to produce texts or language of how people actually speak, as opposed to how one might think people speak. This is something I am quite sensitive to. So I made these few suggestions on how we might improve the script, and that ended up being several pages of notes and several weeks of work, which resulted in significant rewrites, redrafts, and restructuring—and doing lots and lots more research. By that point, the script was a completely different animal from what I first encountered. So we took the strong elements of that and then embedded a lot more research into it.
EAST: That's an interesting point. After checking out your Instagram, it's quite clear that you are a very present and spiritual person. Did these qualities help you in your writing or acting?
TOM: Most definitely. For me, this project has been quite extraordinary in the sense of the depth I've been able to reach. Writing the content, for sure, is a whole other level as a performer. Then also meeting the real Sergey, we interviewed him in Moscow, and we also very tragically went to his funeral. He passed away while we were developing the story, and it was a very surreal moment for me, to be at the funeral of a person whose life you have extended in literary form, and whom you will portray in real life. So there were very strong moments during filming when there was this awareness that Sergey was with us, or certainly the energy. For me, having a real level of immersion within the project meant that the emotion came easily, or the stream of consciousness, let's say. It was very profound and beautiful to have the opportunity to do that as a performer.
EAST: And when you met Sergey Fetisov, what were your impressions of him, and did these impressions influence the way you played or wrote about him?
TOM: Very much so. It was an honor to meet him, and he was so very full of heart. He was a very heart-led man. You could tell that he had such a sunny persona, and despite having had a lot of trials and tribulations in love, he was bold and happy. So I brought that level of following your heart, and that buoyancy to the performance - where I could - without making it seem too out of context at the same time.
EAST: And for you, Peeter, how was it meeting Sergey Fetisov, and did this impact the way you directed the film?
PEETER: As Tom said, he was an amazingly warm and heartfelt person, considering what he had gone through in his life, and how these experiences had made him loving and not hating. I think he definitely informed how we developed the character, and it was an amazing treasure trove speaking to him about actual details, like: what were their favorite pieces of music; what were their favorite foods; which music they would play to each other; which books they would read; which theater plays they went to see. It all kind of built a world and helped us to be very authentic in directing and staging the film.
EAST: Peeter, being from Estonia, was there anything about your heritage and personal identity that you brought to the project?
PEETER: Definitely. When I was a very young boy, I still recall the Soviet occupation, and our summer house was actually near the air force base where this story takes place. I have this distinct memory of my friend being on his bicycle and these two MiGs (Mikoyan-Gurevich) flying overhead at maybe 150 feet, and us literally falling off the bicycles because the noise was so deafening. So I have a very strong personal connection, besides having grown up with this feeling of shame about one's sexuality, having to hide your true identity, and the surrounding environment lacking understanding and being ignorant. So, a lot of parallels for me.
EAST: How much history is in the story?
PEETER: I think it's, well, I don’t dare to say 100%, but I think it's 99% historically correct. The events happening, the small details of the air force base, the setting, we really made our utmost effort to make a film that looks and feels like the 1970s could have looked and felt like.
EAST: And there seems to be a big military presence in the film.
PEETER: From the directing perspective, we had amazing consultants. We had a retired airforce base, a retired Soviet airforce base commander, flight pilot, a person who worked in the command centre, who directed all the flights. We had a lot of people who literally went through the script, went through the dialogues, who were on the set with us, telling us to do it like this, or do it this way. We put trust in not making a Hollywood version of what someone envisages, but in thorough research.
TOM: The intricacy of the details is very particular, I mean, even when it comes to the radio announcements, and things like that, and the calling in’s to the planes and the lights from the command centre and everything- its all very accurate. We did the best research to our knowledge, to make sure that it was as real as possible, and the same really with the job titles, the job roles. The military consultants in particular were very useful and an intrinsic part of the training for the performance: the way we would walk; the hand salutes; all this military realism that actually happened, and making sure that the attention to detail- our costume department were really great around that also. So, the military aspects of the film, even this accident, there was an accident sequence within the film as well, which was in the original story, and I was absolutely adamant we had to put it into the film, to give it this military flare, instead of having it simply as a backdrop, but actually as an action sequence, this was really paramount and important to me, to ground it into the real world.
EAST: Any personal highlights from onset?
PEETER: I think for me, one of the most amazing shots was the last shot of the film. Without giving away too much, it lasts about 1.5 minutes, and the camera is going into Sergey. Technically, it was a huge challenge for our team to pull it off, but also performance-wise, for Tom to act out all the different emotions truthfully, being surrounded by 50 or 60 extras, and knowing that we can’t cut, and that this is all real-time, one very long take.
TOM: It's a very unforgiving shot, let's put it that way. I’m very proud of that moment and what came through. It was one of those moments that I was speaking about earlier, where there was this profound connection. I started experiencing some very curious things emotionally. It was like being shown the end of one's life, but I was experiencing it in real time, which was quite curious. For me, the highlight and more significant highlights of the film were really my personal growth. That, to me, is a huge success. As a measure of success, it challenged me emotionally, physically, spiritually, and now it's a sort of standing point, as a physical manifestation of what one can achieve when there are so many odds against you, challenges, time-limiting factors, and all those kinds of things. So yeah, we can have a whole other discussion about that for the highlights. But we were so blessed to have such a wonderful, committed, and loyal team who were willing to go way above standard hours; the commitment was astounding.
EAST: Peeter, did you learn anything about yourself personally or professionally during this project?
PEETER: Absolutely, first of all, it was my first full-length feature. I have done documentaries, but that’s a whole different game. Learning all the nuances of directing on the set of the feature, and actually doing a pretty challenging script. We shot in the air, under the water, in the Baltic Sea, staged Hamlet in theater, staged the full production of Firebird, including costumes and choreography, dancers, and sets - a lot of very specific scenes. It was very challenging, and I had a lot of personal growth during this process over the last couple of years.
TOM: I think for me also, as I mentioned, the physical challenges, the stamina, keeping up your health, mental clarity, and sharpness through longer days, and resilience through that. Some days there would be 5, 6, 7, 8 costume changes, multiple different set environments, and we would have to change them very quickly as well. I would be sitting on the train, where we would shoot the train sequences, and moving from one emotional state to another within minutes, and the whole world of the character has changed and gone upside down in that time. So, to be able to tune in to that energy, that emotional change very quickly, was really amazing. And to also play a lead in a film, there is this overwhelming pressure that you can put on yourself, and to scale that, was for me, a real joy and a real challenge, at times. To stay centered, to stay focused, and to know what we have got to do and what we are there to do, and yeah, this was a really beautiful example of change and growth, and long hours, knowing that you can do it, and you have got to get through it.
EAST: How relevant do you think the story is for today's audience?
TOM: For me, the story is very relevant in terms of following your heart. We live in a world that is probably more divided than ever, with regards to health, beliefs, and perceptions. It is a stand for following your heart. Actually, if you choose to walk that path, it's not necessarily going to be the easiest route, but it's probably somewhat the most rewarding - in terms of being able to feel and develop as a person. The film is about following one's heart and one's desires against all the odds, and against the laws of the country and the environment in which somebody grows up. I hope this serves as an inspiration to follow your heart, to love daringly. That would be my wish and hope for its relevance today.
EAST: Do you have any plans to show this to Eastern audiences?
Peeter: Absolutely, we will distribute the film across the world. We trust we will be at some festivals in the summer, also in autumn, late October - and by the end of the year, we will have wider distribution across the region. So, I guess we will see how the world is as we open, and depending on how much we will be in cinemas. But definitely, we will be on all major platforms across Europe.
'Firebird' premiered at the 2021 BFI Flare Festival on 17th March 2021 and is available to stream on the BFI Player until 28th March 2021.
The movie is soon to be released on further platforms. Find more information on Firebird here.
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