During the Soviet Union, it is a known fact historically and into today’s Russia that the government is pretty hostile to members of the homosexual community. Filmmaker Masha Egieva constructed a short thriller on how the Orthodox Church and the KGB conspired to pursue moral righteousness in the short film Saint Vassily.

The short film stars Bill Gunnion (The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself), Michael Shaeffer, Jake Neads, and Hugh Ross.

Here is the official synopsis:

Orthodox Christian Theological Academy near Moscow, USSR, 1982.

An ambitious student, Vassily prepares for his forthcoming ordination as a priest, encouraged by the warm-hearted archbishop of the Academy. Suddenly, Vassily’s roommate Roma goes missing. As worrisome rumors around the disappearance spread across the all-male Academy. Vassily is approached by a KGB agent.

At once amiable and quietly menacing, the KGB agent attempts to establish a rapport with a cautious Vassily as he pretends to investigate the circumstances of Roma’s disappearance. Penetrating Vassily’s life, the KGB agent puts the young man before a dilemma: either Vassily’s ordination as a priest will be revoked, or he must testify to his roommate’s homosexuality.

Crestfallen yet unyielding, Vassily is reluctant to denounce his roommate: if Roma is not homosexual, then Vassily would commit a perjury; if Roma is homosexual, then it’s not for Vassily to judge his roommate. It is only when Vassily realizes that his archbishop mentor and the KGB agent are in it together that he grasps the gravitas of his condition and realizes that he is cornered.

Having weighed what is at stake—his forthcoming priesthood and a life of leading a parish onto the path of God—and at what cost—of denouncing his roommate—Vassily makes up his mind. He denounces Roma and puts his fate into the hands of the KGB. He will compromise this once, and for a good cause.

Vassily is ordained as a priest.

Now a priest, Vassily returns to his room. But just as he thought that all the struggle was over, the KGB agent greets him in his room.

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LRM Online’s Gig Patta chatted with writer-director Masha Egieva on the short film, the parallels of seeking out homosexuals today and the past, church involvement, and the character’s dilemma.

Masha Egieva is a writer, director, and producer with an undergraduate degree in art history from UCL and a master’s degree in film aesthetics from Oxford University. In 2022, she co-founded Reformation Films, which produces several feature projects, including the psychological thriller Penumbra, which revolves around a repressed reproduction painter.

Saint Vassily made its recent debut at the HollyShorts Film Festival 2024.

Watch the exclusive interview with Masha Egieva below. Let us know what you think of the interview.

For news and interviews, contact Gig Patta at [email protected]. Follow https://x.com/GigPatta, https://www.facebook.com/OfficialGigPatta, https://www.instagram.com/gigpatta or https://www.tiktok.com/gigpatta for all his postings and musings in entertainment.

Source: LRM Online Exclusive