The following appeared in Passport Moscow (October 2010)
 The Water Truck |
Babye Leto (grandmother’s summer), a spell of mild, beautiful and fresh weather under clear skies visits Moscow in September. One of the city’s favorite gathering places is the city overlook at Vorobyovy Gory (Sparrow Hills) with the ski jump and embankment down to the Moscow River and Luzhniki park and stadium below and the magnificent main building of Moscow State University (MGU) behind. |
 Miraslava Karpovich |
This Sunday, amid the residents and tourists, wedding parties and tour buses, Russian Director Alexander Guz turned the lawn in front of MGU into a film set with television starlet Miraslava Karpovich (Papa’s Daughters). Sixteen young dancers from Moscow’s Kudrinka Dance Ensemble joined her for the scene: It’s summer and very hot. The kids are lounging on the lawn enjoying music from a boom box. They call a radio station to request a tune, and on a whim ask for a cooling rain. Then the Surprise – a city water truck rolls up and sprays the group. They run through the spray and finish with a dance to “Rock ‘n’ Roll is King” on the lawn. |
 The Kite Salesman |
The Catch – it’s not hot. Today it’s under 15 degrees, the water is cold and, as usual in the film business, there were many takes. A stray mother dog shows up. A kite salesman resents that his usual spot has been commandeered and continues to fly kites over the set. The Sunday crowd, bundled in jackets, wander into the background giving the continuity crew fits – it is summer after all. |
Text and photos by Charles Borden
