Main Cast: Pyotr Skvortsov, Viktoriya Isakova, Yuliya Aug

Veniamin, a teenager in the midst of a mystical crisis, has his mother, schoolmates and entire high school turned upside down by his questions: can girls go to their swimming classes in bikinis? Does sex education have a place in school? Should the theory of evolution be taught as part of the Natural Sciences?

The adults are soon overwhelmed by the certitudes of the youngster who swears only by Scripture. No one but Elena, his biology teacher, will alone challenge him on his own ground. This is an extraordinarily powerful, thought-provoking and darkly funny film from Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov, which turned heads at its premiere in the Cannes Film Festival last year. The drama sours and a large part of the reason for this is down to the astonishing, visceral performance from its leading actor, Pyotr Skvortsov. Don’t miss it.