Max Bessmertny’s feature film “The Violin Case” is set to make its Macau premiere at Studio City Cinema in Cotai on May 15, while it will be shown by other local cinemas from May 22, according to a statement last night from the team.
The premiere is venue-sponsored by Studio City Macau.
Being six years in the making since its conception during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the film features a multicultural cast and is primarily in English, though it also uses Cantonese and Portuguese. The movie is inspired by a true event that happened to Bessmertny’s father, artist Konstantin Bessmertny, when he lost his violin artwork in a foreign city 10 years ago, remaining unfound to this day despite efforts by the father and son.
Taking Macau as its backdrop, the film then takes this concept to tell its story, where a foreign painter, played by Kelsey Wilhelm, embarks on a desperate search for a violin artwork, his most valuable piece, that was left in the back of a cab. What follows is “the worst night of his life”, the statement said. The main cast also includes Filipe Baptista Tou, Mi Lee, and Clara Brito, who plays a “calculating art gallerist”.
The statement added that Bessmertny and producer Virginia Ho took the movie to 10 film markets and festivals from Cannes to Tokyo in 2025 as part of an initiative sponsored by the Cultural Development Fund to promote the film and gain insight into the film industry.
The statement added that the project, which was almost never made, was “supported entirely by film lovers and patrons of the arts and the project was funded individually through every step of the entire production cycle”.
Following its Macau premiere, the statement noted that the indie film will also be screened at Museu do Oriente (“Museum of the Orient”) in Lisbon on September 11 as part of a series of international events showcasing the film, being set to mark the first “Made in Macau” film to debut in the country.
It will also be part of screenings, festivals and workshops, among other activities in markets like Hong Kong and other parts of Asia, along with Europe and the US.
The trailer is available on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QbjAfSo-bY
This image provided by “The Violin Case” team yesterday shows a still from the movie.
