In the new season of the festival, actress Daria Moroz introduced her directorial debut, a collection of interwoven film vignettes titled Sex. The program is framed as a sequence of intimate, bite‑sized stories that hinge on bold dialogue and sharp humor. Through these pieces, Moroz invites audiences to consider how human connections unfold when ordinary settings are pushed to the edge of social limits. The project is presented as a deliberate blend of provocation and warmth, anchored by a recurring milieu that gives the sketches a shared atmosphere while allowing each tale to stand on its own emotional ground.
The collection, which is planned for release on the Okko streaming platform, comprises 14 episodes. Each segment runs from about 15 minutes to roughly 30 minutes, offering compact narratives that pulse with character and tension. The linking thread is a luxurious restaurant setting that acts as a hotbed for conversations, confessions, and clashes. Moroz herself takes on the demanding role of the stern restaurant manager, guiding the action with a steely authority that lends cohesion to the separate stories. The ensemble cast moves fluidly through different social situations, underscoring how setting can amplify both comic and dramatic undertones while highlighting the complexity of desire, power, and humor in equal measure.
Eyewitness accounts from the festival hall describe frequent, spontaneous bursts of applause after several of the short pieces, signaling the audience’s strong engagement with the material. The reactions suggest that the stories resonate not only through their frank depictions of sexuality but also through their insistence on exploring the nuances of everyday relationships. The humor lands as a counterpoint to more provocative moments, creating a tonal balance that invites reflection as much as laughter. In presenting the material, Moroz frames the project as an exploration of social taboos met with curiosity and playfulness, a combination aimed at sparking conversation long after the credits roll.
From Moroz’s perspective, all dialogues in the setpieces orbit around sex, but the central takeaway lies in human interaction and the joy found in genuine moments of connection. The stories purposefully thrust characters into ironic and unexpected situations, inviting the viewer to observe how people negotiate boundaries, jealousy, tenderness, and the unexpected twists that shape relationships. The endings in each tale are designed to reinterpret the preceding events, leaving audiences with a sense of surprise and contemplation. Moroz describes the project as provocative in its dialogue, yet grounded in a healthy examination of male‑female dynamics and the evolving ways relationships are formed and tested. The emotional spectrum is painted with warmth and wit, ensuring that humor remains a core thread throughout the series.
Online film festival New Season, held in Sochi, brings this project to a broader audience, running across the first weekend of September. The festival setting provides a platform for the work to be discussed among peers, critics, and fans who are eager to dissect how the stories balance edgy topics with accessible storytelling. The public conversations surrounding the project emphasize its ambition: to challenge conventional norms while delivering character-driven moments that feel authentic and entertaining. As the festival unfolds, Moroz’s vision for a provocative, yet amiably human, collection gains a clearer footprint in the landscape of contemporary cinema.
Pavel Derevyanko also weighed in on the tone and potential future directions of the project. He suggested that the conversation about who else might join future productions becomes a natural extension of the film’s exploration of collaborative storytelling. The dialogue hints at ongoing interest from performers and audiences alike, signaling that the work could evolve in interesting directions should additional collaborations come to fruition. In this sense, the project functions not only as a single release but as a launching pad for conversations about content, casting, and the kinds of stories that will engage viewers in the months ahead.