A dead friend, a tennis racket, and Soviet secrets nobody wants uncovered.
After a long absence, Igor Balagura returns to his hometown. After learning about the suicide of his friend Stas Olenich, a promising scientist and talented tennis player, the hero begins his own investigation...
Acting
Saraikin's haunted eyes say what the censors wouldn't let him.
Direction
Slupsky shoots Kyiv like a crime scene before the crime.
Writing
Dialogue so coded you'll need a Cold War decoder ring.
Director
Yuli Slupsky
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot during the Soviet 'stagnation' period, the film circulated only in underground samizdat — official prints were allegedly destroyed.
The tennis scenes use actual Kyiv scientists as extras — many had experienced real academic purges.
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