On the red carpet before the premiere of the film Rabies, actor Alexei Serebryakov delivered a sharp reply to a media representative. The moment, captured on video, was shared by mk.ru, drawing attention to the tense exchange as reporters pressed for details about the production. During the interview, the actor was asked how the crew withstood the brutal cold while filming in the Altai region, and he succinctly replied, “To the summit.”
Rabies, directed by Dmitry Dyachenko, who previously earned fame for Cheburashka, hit screens on February 23. The story centers on a remote Siberian village confronting a sudden outbreak of wolf rabies. As fear rises and authorities scramble for containment measures, the film’s central character, portrayed by Aleksey Serebryakov, chooses a protective path—hiding his son in a forest house to shield him from danger and to help him battle a crisis of substance abuse. The narrative weaves together themes of resilience, community vigilance, and the human cost of disease outbreaks, drawing inspiration from a real rabies episode that unfolded in the Amur Region in 2019. The authenticity of the setting and the emotional stakes are heightened by the stark, wintry landscape that shapes the characters’ decisions and their sense of responsibility toward one another.
The project has also been highlighted through prior reporting that centers on the cast, including Yevgeny Tkachuk, who takes on the role of a police officer within the film. This connection to law enforcement characters adds another layer to the film’s examination of order, public safety, and the human response to emergencies. The collaboration among the actors and the director’s adaptation of a harrowing real-world incident contribute to Rabies’ aim of delivering a gripping portrayal of survival under extreme conditions. The cast and crew’s efforts are reflected in the dramatic tension of the story, as well as the film’s deeper questions about fear, courage, and the social bonds that emerge in crisis scenarios. [citation: industry reports and press materials]