A new pre-holiday film titled “I love you – Je t’aime” brings together a slate of celebrated Russian artists including Kristina Orbakaite, Leonid Agutin, Valeria, Tosya Chaikina, Sirotkin, Sevil Velieva, IOWA, and Alexander Revva. In this production, the performers will deliver their songs in French, with arrangements that echo the pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s in France, as noted during reporting on the project. The film’s creators describe a seamless blend of contemporary performance with vintage musical styling to evoke a nostalgic mood that complements the festive season described in the script.
The mood of the movie is meant to be atmospheric and retro: black-and-white visuals, period costumes, and a variety of scenic backdrops that nod to classic cinema. The project frames itself as a dreamlike journey—what would happen if beloved performers and cinematic personas from childhood could speak and sing in French, delivering a romantic, chanson-inspired experience. Interwoven into the narrative are playful reimaginings of well-known Soviet-era scenes drawn from films such as Station for Two, Love and Doves, Moscow Doesn’t Believe in Tears, and The Irony of Fate, Or Enjoy Your Bath! (with respectful homage rather than direct replication).
The principal roles in these segments are portrayed by Mikhail Troynik, Elizaveta Boyarskaya, Anna Mikhalkova, Pyotr Fedorov, Anna Chipovskaya, Irina Starshenbaum, Yulia Peresild, Yuri Chursin, Maxim Matveev, Marina Alexandrova, Rinal Mukhametov, Anton Vasiliev, Alexey Zolotovitsky, and Alexander Robak. An enigmatic guide through the world of musical fantasy is embodied by actor Sergei Burunov in a masquerade as Fantômas, with his face concealed behind a blue mask, signaling a playful departure from reality.
Direction and production are led by Igor Mishin, the head of Kion online cinema, alongside Angelina Ashman, who has a track record producing notable projects such as the matinee TV comedy Incident in Multi-Pulti Country and a New Year special. In a note about prior plans, it was mentioned that a different lineup featuring Ivan Urgant, Sergei Burunov, Danila Kozlovsky, Alexander Petrov, and other artists had been considered for release on the Kion platform on December 31, but the project was withdrawn before its premiere, with details not publicly explained. The change underscored how rapidly studio decisions can shift in today’s streaming environment.
There was later public discussion about Urgant, who referenced a separate matter involving an MGIMO professor and a policy discussion tied to academic discourse. While that topic is unrelated to the film project itself, it reflects the broader media conversation surrounding public figures and institutional frameworks during the same period.
Additionally, regional reporting noted the absence of large-scale New Year public events in Crimea, aligning with ongoing travel and event planning considerations typical of the holiday season. This context helps frame the film’s release timetable and promotional strategy within a broader cycle of festive activities and regional planning. The production team has emphasized that the project is designed to be a celebration of music, film history, and performance, presented in a way that resonates with contemporary audiences while nodding to classic French pop aesthetics of decades past. The combination of star power, creative reinterpretation, and a vintage visual voice aims to deliver a uniquely nostalgic yet modern viewing experience for Russian-speaking audiences and fans across North America, where viewers often seek multicultural musical storytelling.