Director Kostas Marsan: There Is a Kind of Magic, a Mystery All Around Us
Kostas Marsan's bold films revive Yakut history and epic folklore
YAKUTIA.INFO. Yakut cinema will soon welcome two new films—and both from the same director: Kostas Marsan. The man behind two widely acclaimed works (not just in Yakutia), My Killer and Ichche, is now finalizing two projects: Sana Bootuur, a feature film inspired by the Yakut epic Olonkho, and a documentary about Peter Zakharov, the famed Yakut merchant who attended the coronation of Russia's last emperor, Nicholas II. Filming for both is complete, and post-production is now underway.
Marsan spent recent years in Moscow but has returned with a double premiere. In this interview, the director discusses his new films, life in the capital, and how his experience as an art director at a pub helped shape his career in cinema.
Last summer, we ran into each other by chance on Ordzhonikidze Square, and you mentioned working on a documentary in Yakutsk. You hadn't been seen here in a while. Then, six months later—on that very same spot, but in winter—we met again, and you said the film was essentially finished. So what's this upcoming release about?
It's a documentary project about Peter Zakharov, a Yakut merchant who secured an audience with Emperor Nicholas II during his coronation.
What's fascinating is that Zakharov was a direct descendant of Mazara Bazayev, the first Yakut prince to visit Moscow and meet a Russian tsar after Yakutia's annexation in the 17th century.
Sergei Potapov even staged a play about this at the Sakha Theatre.
Exactly! And that's the intriguing part: the protagonist's ancestor met one of the early Romanovs, while he himself, three centuries later, met the last of the dynasty. The circle closed. We wondered: Why would the tsar grant an audience to some merchant from Yakutia, especially during coronation festivities, where every minute was meticulously planned? My theory is that Nicholas, an admirer of the early Romanovs, found it compelling to meet a direct descendant of someone his royal ancestor had met in the 17th century. A kind of historical continuity. That's the version we explore in the film.
And this audience had serious economic consequences. At the time, private international trade was banned—direct commerce with Japan or China was forbidden. Irkutsk merchants were profiting heavily from this restriction, but our hero, Peter Zakharov, managed to change the rules.
If Yakutia's merchants had joined the First Guild—which granted the right to engage in international trade—we might have had our own Rothschilds and Rockefellers by now. If not for the Revolution, that is.
In other words, we were just a little too late. Global upheavals got in the way.
Right. Too late. The decision had been made, but the bureaucratic machine, with all its inertia—and given the turbulent times at the turn of the century—simply couldn't finalize the process.
How did you get involved in this story, and when is the premiere?
The Mazary Bazaikov Foundation approached me with this project—specifically, Anna Zakharova, a direct descendant of our protagonist. Her vision is to create a series of films about this family. Marina Kalinina directed one of them, focused on Mazary Bazaikov, while I worked on the film about Pyotr Zakharov. The subject fascinated me—the way the region communicated with the center, how complex issues were resolved. As for the premiere, I can't say just yet. But soon.
This is your first project, but you mentioned you're also working on a feature film in a rather unusual genre.
Here's the story: While I was in Yakutsk working on the documentary, I was offered a chance to direct a film blending fairy-tale adventure with superhero elements. I'd never made anything for a young audience before.
But the script struck me as incredibly compelling. It's a modern retelling of Olonkho—when you transpose this ancient epic into today's world, it takes on fascinating new layers. The story follows kids living here and now.
Yet even with this contemporary twist, the core traditions of the epic are preserved. While developing the script with its author, Alexey Sobakin, we'd dig into Olonkho, brainstorming how to adapt its motifs for today. For example: How would a first-year university student react if a messenger from the Upper World appeared and told him he was the chosen one? (laughs) The film is built on these delightfully absurd moments.
Why this genre?
It has an educational dimension too—introducing audiences to Olonkho.
Is the cast all Yakut cinema stars?
Actually, during casting, I deliberately looked for fresh faces. The leads are students from the Arctic State Institute of Culture and Arts and the College of Culture. But we do have cameos from some of our biggest stars.
Any word on the premiere?
The plan is for next year, but there's still a lot of work ahead—including, as you rightly noted, a great deal of visual effects.
Overall, how do you find working in this new genre?
I believe this kind of audience has no patience for anything inauthentic.
You can't just tell kids, "Oh, my film is deep, it's not for everyone, it's full of profound imagery and refined metaphors…" That won't fly.
And even in family-friendly films, there should be hints that adults can pick up on and appreciate—it adds an extra layer of comedy.
So do you think you've managed to pull all that off?
It's too early to say, but Olonkho itself offers a chance to explore all kinds of themes that will resonate with audiences of any age.
