Sergey Balanov

Movie - 2023, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role

Yakut Stepan Beresekov periodically falls into a lethargic sleep. Only a Russian, the son of a priest, Ivan Popov, can distinguish his condition from real death. But Popov is going on a long ethnographic expedition. Stepan decides to follow his savior so as not to be buried alive.

Movie - 2026, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role

Prokopiy, a 27-year-old boy with developmental disabilities, lives with his strict mother, Maria, who keeps him locked away for his own "safety." Life goes on as usual in a remote Yakut village until Prokopiy's cheerful sister, Aiyyna, arrives next door. She gives him warmth, attention, and a sense of "normality," and a simple, pure friendship blossoms between them, which becomes a revelation for the boy. Aiyyna leads him out of his locked room, takes him on a sleigh ride to a party, and for the first time makes him feel part of the outside world. But the closer Prokopiy gets to freedom, the more conflicts he has with his mother, who fears losing control and may not be able to protect her son from the pain society can inflict on him. A touching, harsh, and poetic coming-of-age story about a man who emerges from the safety of a locked world to an ambiguous freedom.

Movie - 2021, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role

Seven stories about good and evil neighbours. A young son takes his father's gun without asking and lends it to a friend. A young man brings his bride to his home, but the meeting with his relatives turns into a dangerous conflict and only the village head can prevent a tragedy. The head of a young family sells the house of a relative and accidentally loses money because of this. His relationship with his wife begins to deteriorate. Will they be able to keep the family together? All the characters will have to make a difficult choice… A crazy anthology consisting of seven funny, dramatic and complex stories about the relationships of families, neighbours, relatives, and friends.

Movie - 2025, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role

A young man named Kesha returns to his village after a long absence. He has completed a prison term but now simply wants to live a quiet, normal life. His younger brother, only 17, has plans for college. However, the brothers’ perspectives on the future shift dramatically when Kesha joins a gold-mining crew.

Movie - 2021, 2h 15m • as Pathfinder

There is no escape from the war... 1942. While all the forces of the country are thrown into the fight against fascist Germany, in the southern part of Yakutia there are gangs robbing gold mines. The largest of them is the elusive and brutal Popov gang, which collects stolen gold to organize a military coup in the Far East. In their footsteps, a small detachment of the NKVD under the leadership of Senior Lieutenant Karasev is sent through the snow-covered endless taiga.

Movie - 2013, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role

The human soul, like a moth, is fragile and vulnerable. Its persistent pursuit of a dream, like a light, can scorch its wings… The hero of the film is lonely. People do not accept him as an equal, because he is not like everyone else: Pavel has been a deaf-mute since childhood. A young man lives in the village in an old house on the banks of a large picturesque river. But his world, his soul, is like a lonely island. The need for love, friendship turns into misfortune for him. Only bright memories of his mother and her dream of returning to his homeland someday gives rise to hope for happiness in Pavel's soul. This is a story about love and disappointment, about friendship and betrayal. Based on the story "Taiwan Island" by playwright Semyon Ermolaev.