“By far the most visually beautiful film in this year's programme… perfectly evoking the Soviet films of the period.” - IndieWIRE

A doctor working with the first group of cosmonauts in 1961 is caught in a conflict between duty and conscience; his choice could cost him not only personal happiness and professional respect, but also his life.

Recalling Andrei Tarkovsky's work in its fluid camerawork and multilayered dialogue, Alexei German Jr's Paper Soldier is a tightly paced drama, laced with shades of Chekov, probing the moral ambiguities behind the ideological facade of post-Stalinist Russia.

Winner of Best Director and Best Cinematography at the 2008 Venice Film Festival.

“It's about the power of ideas and how, even if righteous, they could lead to human suffering and death, destroying souls.” - filmmaker Alexei German Jr