The Russian is One Who Loves Birches: drama by Pola Beck based on the bestseller by Olga Grjasnowa about a young German-Jewish woman in search of herself
Film plot and background
Mascha (Aylin Tezel) is young, wild and headstrong. As a young girl, she fled with her parents from Azerbaijan to Germany. Today, the 27-year-old German-Jew speaks five languages fluently and dreams of making a career at the UN as an aspiring interpreter. Mascha is happy, she has a circle of friends who support her and a partner she loves. Mascha has just moved in with her boyfriend Elias when he suddenly falls seriously ill after an accident. When Elias finally dies unexpectedly, Mascha’s life is thrown off course. Head over heels, the young woman leaves the city and takes the next best flight to Israel. Once there, Mascha immerses herself in a new life, falls in love anew and distracts herself. But soon childhood traumas from the escape and her German-Jewish history catch up with her and Mascha realises that she can’t run away from her past forever.
Watch the official trailer for “The Russian is one who loves birches” here:
“The Russian is one who loves birches” – background, cast, cinema release
Filmmaker Pola Beck (“Am Himmel der Tag”) brings “Der Russe ist einer, der Birken liebt” (The Russian is One Who Loves Birches), the screen adaptation of Olga Grjasnowa’s bestseller of the same name, to German cinemas. Actress Aylin Tezel (“Am Himmel der Tag”) stars as Mascha, a young Jewish woman who tries to find herself after a heavy blow of fate. Other leading roles were played by Slavko Popadic (“Bonnie & Bonnie”), as Masha’s boyfriend Elias, and the Israeli actress Yuval Scharf (“Beauty Queen of Jerusalem”), as Masha’s newfound love.
The drama premiered at the Munich Film Festival. From 3 November 2022, “The Russian is One Who Loves Birches” can be seen in German cinemas.
