After making its debut last year at the 2018 Freep Film Festival, “The Russian Five” documentary released a new trailer on Sunday and announced several showings will be held in various movie theatres across Michigan starting on March 22nd.
The Russian Five will initially hit 25 theaters (mostly in Michigan) on March 22nd. According to the film’s producer, Jenny Feterovich, the hope is to expand to 40 theaters, including more out-of-state venues, in the second week.
With several awards, including the Spirit of Michigan Award at the Freep Film Festival, the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Traverse City Film Festival, and the WIFF 2018 People’s Choice Awards, the documentary focuses on the rise of one of the Detroit Red Wings’ most famous lines.
The Russian Five will open in these Michigan theaters on March 22nd:
- Emagine Theaters (Royal Oak, Macomb, Birmingham, Saline, Hartland, Frankfort, Novi, Canton, Birch Run, and Rochester Hills)
- Phoenix Theaters (Laurel Park, Wayne State, and Monroe)
- Celebration Cinema (Grand Rapids, Lansing, Muskegon, and Portage)
- NCG Cinema (Battle Creek, Midland, Grand Blanc, and Lansing)
- Michigan Theater (Ann Arbor)
- Sperry’s Moviehouse (Port Huron)
For more information about purchasing tickets, visit therussianfive.com.
Watch the trailer below:
Synopsis
In the late 1980s, the Detroit Red Wings were a laughing stock. Things were so bad that fans and rivals alike often called the team the “Dead Wings.” After Mike Illitch bought the failing franchise, he appointed an unorthodox General Manager, Jim Devellano, to build a championship team. Throwing off conventional wisdom, Devellano looked to America’s mortal enemy in the Cold War, the Soviet Union itself. Through a plot that sounds like a spy novel, the Red Wings organization brought on one Russian after another, sneaking them out under cover of night and whisking them to the Motor City, only to find that the new players faced another problem: Integration.
The film follows the stories of the five Russian players that emigrated to America, took root in Detroit, Michigan, and struggled to fit in, all while training day and night to become Stanley Cup champions. The new immigrants had to learn to communicate with their teammates, assimilate into the culture, and become Americans. Yet, along the way, the Russians began to teach the rest of the team the core of Soviet hockey, and better still, they started winning.
The Russian Five is the true story of immigrants that became American heroes, teammates that became family, and a scrappy, resilient city that became a world champion, twice. It’s a story about hopes and dreams becoming reality, and the harsh reality of dreaming big. The names Sergi Federov, Igor Larionov, Viacheslav Fetisov, Vyacheslav Kozlov, and Vladimir Konstantinov are legend now in the Motor City and their influence is still felt throughout the National Hockey League today.
And all because a few brave people decided to set aside national identity to reach for the stars.
