Waves, a new feature from Mikhail Brashinsky, the filmmaker behind the zombie horror project Shopping Tour and once a film critic for Afisha, is scheduled for a spring release in North American theaters. The information comes from Reflexion Films through its press service.
In the dystopian drama, the leading performers include Victoria Tolstoganova, Vladislav Abashin, and Irina Brazgovka. The narrative follows a group of individuals who either stumble into or consciously join a totalitarian sect. As the story unfolds, the characters come to recognize what freedom means only when they submit fully to the system, and they discover love in a setting where emotional connections are forbidden. The premise explores how society can impose order and control, while personal longing and the pursuit of authentic affection challenge those boundaries.
Tolstoganova disclosed at one point that another actress would have taken the central role, but illness prevented that possibility. She described how, despite the sudden change, a long-standing friendship with Brashinsky helped her visualize the closed, eerie world he aimed to portray. She noted that his confidence as a director made the vision feel real and trustworthy, enabling her to commit to the project with conviction.
Brashinsky elaborated that the screenplay developed over a lengthy period, with roughly eight years dedicated to shaping the story. He described the process as a back-and-forth journey, with moments of stepping away and returning, until a breakthrough occurred. He recalled that in the summer of 2018 he found the moment of clarity he needed, deciding to complete the work on his own and bring the film to life. According to him, the decision to finish came after a long, solitary path that finally converged with a firm resolve to see the project through. The director emphasized the personal drive and persistence that fueled the writing and continued development, underscoring how the creative process can endure through doubt and interruption.
The project positions Brashinsky as a director who blends intimate character study with a broader meditation on freedom, authority, and moral choice. The ensemble cast, anchored by Tolstoganova, Abashin, and Brazgovka, navigates a world where loyalty is tested and personal risk becomes a currency for belonging. Viewers are invited to observe how restriction and danger can intensify desire and reshape how individuals understand love, loyalty, and what it means to be true to oneself within a tightly controlled society. The film promises stark imagery and a claustrophobic atmosphere that mirrors the internal tensions faced by each character.
As production details emerge, audiences can anticipate a production that blends psychological depth with a suspenseful, speculative backdrop. The collaboration between the actors and Brashinsky is framed as a deliberate attempt to render a vivid, immersive experience that probes the uneasy interplay between freedom and constraint. The announcement from Reflexion Films hints at a project designed to spark conversation about power, autonomy, and the paradoxes of love under oppressive regimes.