“I didn’t play Mark, but I was him”: Stepan Sereda spoke about the casting and filming in the social thriller “You Can’t Cry”

19 october 2022 · News

The premiere of the social thriller directed by Natalia Nazarova "You Can't Cry" about a Russian emigrant in Scandinavia, from whom social services take away a child, took place yesterday in Moscow. The film creators said that the script was based on real stories that took place in European families.

According to the plot, Tatiana is raising her son in Scandinavia. After the death of her husband - a war correspondent - in Syria, the relationship between mother and child deteriorates. After one of the domestic quarrels, the boy is taken away by social services to be placed in a new family. In search of a way to return her son, the heroine finds herself at a dead end: according to the laws of the new juvenile justice, her child is the property of the state.

Stepan Sereda played  one of the teenagers, who, like the main character, turned out to be a temporary resident of the crisis center. We talked with Stepan and found out some details.

Tell about the casting. How important was knowledge of English for the character?
The casting was very interesting and a bit unusual. From the very beginning, it was important for the characters to speak English, so the first selftapes were not with the text. These were sketches, but in English. I was asked to be rude to teachers, to snap, to be a rebel. Natalya Vadimovna (editor's note: Director N. V. Nazarova) very carefully approached the casting of absolutely all the characters. In the end, I probably did not play Mark, but I was him. Because by the time of filming, I practically lived his life in the crisis center during the auditions.

Who from the creative team and actors did you meet on set? What do you remember from filming?
To be honest, I can hardly be called the "soul of the company", I do not strive to make many acquaintances. But most of all we communicated with our company of guys from the crisis center. Not many scenes from our lives are included in the full-length version, but there will be many more in the serial version, which will be released in December on one of the platforms.

Shooting was really interesting. Moreover, we filmed the crisis center during the expedition. And so, the most touching moment, it seems to me, was our song. What and where - I will not spoil. But I think if you watch the movie, you will agree with me.

What do you think about the film? Would you recommend going to the cinema to see it?
I really liked the movie. I am very glad that the film is not straightforward. You can't directly divide the characters into "good" and "bad" like that. Each hero has his or her own truth, which they defend in accordance with their beliefs and life experience. And all living people, everyone can make mistakes. After the film, you start to scroll through the “alternative realities” in your head: what if this character would have acted differently? What would happen if...?

Do you have fights with your parents? How do you solve them?
Personally, I don't have any quarrels with my parents. Of course, there are disagreements, like everyone else has, this is normal. But we can agree. Sometimes parents insist on their point of view and convince me. But I'm glad that they listen to me. And it happens that parents in a dispute agree with me. I think listening and hearing each other is the most correct way of interaction.

The  feature film “You Can’t Cry” starts on October 20 in Russian cinemas.