“On the Sunny Side of the Street” is a series based on the book of the same name by Dina Rubina, which premiered in 2011. This is a story about the fates of two women, intertwined with historical events and spanning several decades: Katya, who survived the blockade of Leningrad and later became a swindler, and her daughter Vera, who chose a completely different life for herself.
The multi-part drama On the Sunny Side of the Street, the first season of which was released in 2011, was based on the famous novel by Dina Rubina by Russian directors V. Krasnopolsky and V. Uskov. The star-studded cast and the excellent work of all the cast members ensured the film a resounding success.
But the views of the audience regarding the embodiment of the book on the screen were divided. Some openly expressed their delight and wrote thank-you reviews, while others felt that the creators of the series were not serious about the very essence of Rubina's deep and touching book. However, this is always the case with any film adaptations.
By the way, there is no article on Wikipedia dedicated to the series or even the book on which he was filmed. There is only a page about the writer, Dina Ilyinichna, where you can find a description, photos and videos of her work and performances.
Plot of the film
It all begins in besieged Leningrad, where the main character, a girl named Katya, literally dies of hunger. For her, this hunger and despair determined her future destiny. After being evacuated from the besieged city, the girl is sent to relatively safe Tashkent, where she remains to live.
After the war, having vowed never to starve again, Katya joins the criminal environment in Tashkent, becoming a talented swindler and speculator. The atmosphere of post-war Tashkent is a completely unique cultural environment, formed by exiles, refugees and political prisoners who preserved pre-revolutionary Russian culture and the desire to fight against the government.
Katya trades in the markets of a colorful city, and after an accidental romance, her daughter Vera appears outside of marriage, who does not even suspect about her mother's "business". The girl grows up surrounded by various people of all nationalities that could be found in the Soviet space, and absorbs the best from different cultures and traditions.
Once Vera rescues an accidental drunkard, Uncle Misha, who becomes her real friend and guardian. It is Uncle Misha who guesses great artistic talent in Vera and helps her to become a world-famous artist.
main characters
Katya
The role of Catherine went to two actresses. The heroine in childhood was played by Sofya Khilkova, and already an adult swindler Ekaterina, widely known in the criminal circles of post-war Tashkent, was embodied on the screen by Anna Snatkina.
Sofya Khilkova is a promising young actress born in 2001. From early childhood she received a musical and theatrical education in Moscow, where she lives with her parents. Already in 2009, Sophia appeared on television, becoming the presenter of the children's program of the Karusel TV channel “We will play!”. Khilkova made her film debut in two projects at once in 2008 - in the TV series "Daddy's Daughters" and in the full-length film "Control".
Anna Snatkina is a Russian film and theater actress, she was born into a family of aircraft manufacturers and devoted her entire childhood to sports disciplines, taking the first adult category in gymnastics and becoming a master of sports in aerobics. She graduated from VGIK in 2004, in her student years she made her film debut, starring in the series "Plot". She was nominated to the State Duma from the United Russia, in 2011 she was on the list of the sexiest women in Russia from MAXIM magazine, and in 2012 she married showman Viktor Vasilyev and a year later gave birth to a daughter.
Vera
The main part of the events of the film is devoted to the period of Vera's growing up, and therefore she was played by three Russian actresses: the girls Elizaveta Krasheninnikova and Alexandra Shchesnyak acted in the form of Katya's little daughter, and Yulia Marvina played the role of the adult Vera.
Liza Krasheninnikova is a rising star of the theater of miniatures in the city of Chekhov. She was born in 1996 and has been involved in ballroom dancing and theatrical arts since childhood. Working in the project "On the sunny side of the street" is the only role of the young actress, and it is not yet clear whether she plans to connect her life with cinema.
Alexandra Schesnyak is the youngest member of the series' crew. This talented girl was born in the summer of 2005, but has already managed to take part in six film projects, making her debut in 2010 in the Kazakh-Russian comedy "The Irony of Love", in the comedy melodrama "Inadequate People" and signing a contract for the role of Vera in the TV series "On the Sunny Side streets".
Yulia Mavrina, who played the adult Vera, was born in 1984 into a military family. Since childhood, she gravitated towards theatrical art, graduated from the St. Petersburg Theater Academy. In 2002, she first appeared in films, starring in the drama "Letters to Elsa". She constantly acts in films and television series, collaborating with Russian and Ukrainian film studios, gave birth to a daughter from her second marriage.
Uncle Misha
The role of Uncle Misha Livshits was played by the famous Russian actor Sergei Makovetsky. He was born in Kiev in the summer of 1958, as a child he was actively involved in sports and did not think about an acting career. But he was lucky with mentors - the teacher of English at Sergei's school was Tatiana Solovkina, director and organizer of one of the best school theaters in Kiev. It was she who noticed the gifted boy and invited him to try his hand at the stage.
After success in a school play, Makovetsky decided to forever link his life with the theater. So he did, after school he entered the Moscow School. Shchukin, after graduation he was accepted into the troupe of the Vakhtangov Theater, with which he still collaborates.
The actor first appeared in films in 1982 and since then has played more than 80 roles on the screen, while having an extensive list of theatrical works. Sergey Makovetskiy is engaged in dubbing cartoons, speaks on the radio and has a huge number of both Russian and Ukrainian awards in the field of culture and art.
Minor roles
The role of Semipaly was played by the famous actor and chanson performer Alexander Domogarov. He was born in 1963, graduated from the Shchukin school, for a long time served in the theater of the Soviet Army, and then in the theater of the Moscow City Council. He starred in a movie for the first time in 1984 and still appears in TV shows and films of Russian producers. In 2012, Channel One released a documentary on the acting and musical work of Domogarov.
Tamara in the series was embodied by Olga Dibtseva, an actress of Russian TV series. She was born in 1986 in Leningrad, since childhood she was fond of Brazilian TV shows and knew firmly that she would become an actress. After graduating from GITIS, Olga realized her dream - a rare modern Russian TV series does without her participation.
In the role of Roberto Frunso, another honored Russian cinema figure worked - Vyacheslav Ganenko. He was born in Simferopol in the winter of 1962, graduated from Moscow State University and the Institute of Cinematography. Gerasimov, worked at various film studios as post-production director, assistant, director, actor.
Maria Simakina, another young and promising Russian actress, played the role of Lidusi in the series. Maria was born in May 1998, from early childhood she sang, danced and acted out scenes for loved ones. She made her film debut at the age of nine, portraying a girl named Tusya in Vadim Ostrovsky's 2007 drama "The Only One, On Demand."
In episodes
The series "On the Sunny Side of the Street" covers several decades, and the colorful world of post-war Tashkent is diverse. And therefore there are a lot of characters in the series. Some appear only for a few minutes, and some remain with the heroes for a long time. And therefore, many actors of Russian cinema were filmed in the project: Sergei Batalov, Rajab Adashev, Anton Eskin, Rodion Baranov, Alena Lustina, Alexander Shestopalov and many others.
