We live at a time when basic human rights, equality and freedom are once again under attack around the world. Same sex families are still illegal or discriminated against in many countries, including modern day Russia. I trust that telling Sergey’s true story helps people to understand others who are different from them, to realise that love is love, or as Sergey says: “my love was no less than your love.”
At the core, this film is about having the courage to overcome one’s fears and choose love. It’s a story about discovering your identity in an authoritarian society, while navigating the border between love and friendship. How do you deal with conflicting feelings when there is nobody to talk to, asking “is it right to feel like this?” or “how can I be together with the person I love?”
Many films about same-sex relationships focus only on two men or women falling in love, leaving their spouses as the least integral part of the story. In Firebird, we follow a unique love triangle as the film starts and ends with the relationship of our protagonist Sergey to his close friend Luisa. Luisa’s tragedy is especially important for us as writers, as she does not knowingly choose such family life.
My goal with Firebird was to see the world through the eyes of a twenty year old Russian boy from the countryside. With the same wonder and awe, without fear, judgement or social criticism; staying accurate to the smallest detail. For example, paying minute attention to how conscripts of different tenure wore their uniforms after every six months, or how the radio communication procedures in a Soviet flight control center actually worked.
Together with co-writer Tom Prior, we interviewed real retired Soviet base commanders, air command centre operators, fighter pilots and ground personnel while writing the script. We were also fortunate to spend several long days in Moscow interviewing Sergey Fetisov, the Russian actor whose life story this film is based on. We used a lot of this material in the film.
I strongly believe that Firebird will create more on-screen diversity and empathy by shedding light on a unique yet universal same-sex relationship at a time and place which has rarely been seen in cinemas before. I trust that Firebird will reveal that same-sex families have suffered, but survived, even in the most repressive societies, like the Soviet Union during the Cold War. I invite you to join us on this journey, to bring Sergey’s story to audiences around the world. Now is the time to foster more respect for one universal human right: to love and be loved.
