A SHORT FILM BY VERONIKA POKOPTCEVA

THOUSAND HOURS OF EXHAUSTING WORK FOR THREE MINUTES OF FAME

A short documentary is about a day in the life of the ballerina Elisa Carrillo Cabrera, principal dancer of the Staatsballett Berlin.

Early in the morning Elisa enters the theater. A long working day begins. Full of hard training and eternal rehearsals. Every day is like the other one. She has to be even better than yesterday, despite the pain and fatigue to go on the stage in the evening and to be a Prima.

Elisa Carrillo Cabrera

is a Mexican classical ballet dancer. She is an artistic co-director of the Mexican National Dance Company. Elisa Carillo Cabrera is the only mexican woman, and the first latinamerican dancer who has won all three the most important international dance prizes.
She is currently the principal dancer at the Staatsballett Berlin, one of the ten most recognized dance companies in the world. She is also an cultural ambassador of Mexico, member of UNESCO ́s international dance committee, member of the Mexican Cultural Diplomacy committee, president of the committee for Fundacion Elisa Carilos Cabrera A.C, an artistic co-director for the Sir Anton Dolin ́s Foundation, an artistic co-director for the Compañía Nacional de Danza in Mexico, Ballet Master Degree awarded by Germany Ministry of Culture Stuttgart.

“

I do not try to dance better t han
anyone else. I try to dance only
better than myself.

— Mikhail Baryshnikov
Russian-American dancer, choreographer, and actor

About Film

"Prima. Elisa Carrillo Cabrera" is a documentary short film by Veronika Pokoptseva as part of her graduation project for the SAE Institute Berlin.

Production: SAE Institute Berlin, Berllet Art Productions

Duration: 11 min
Language: English

The Crew

Veronika
Pokoptceva
Director, Producer
Veronika was born in St. Petersburg, Russia and graduated from the State University of Film and Television in 2013. After graduating she worked for several years in various television and video productions as a chief editor, and also directed several television projects for local television channels. After moving to Germany, she entered the SAE Institute Berlin. Her first debut short film “Give me your warmth” (2020) was selected to several film festivals in Germany and Russia. She has produced and directed several music and promotional videos.
Mikhail
Kaniskin
Producer
Mikhail is CEO of the Berllet Art Productions Berlin, an artistic advisor and international representative of the national ballet Mexico and an artistic director of the international dance festival DANZATLAN Mexico, a member of the International Dance Council (CID) of UNESCO, exclusive representative to Youth American Grand Prix (YAGP) Europe in Germany and artistic co-director for the Elisa Carrillo Cabrera Foundation A.C and the Sir Anton Dolin´s Foundation.

“Prima” is his first experience as a producer in the film industry.
Athena
Carmazzi
Camera
Athena Carmazzi is a South Korean director, DoP & Editor based in Berlin who works across music, short films and documentaries. In 2017 she did a two week internship with the Korean production company “film 295” on the production set of “Dark Figure of Crime” that won the 2. place of Korean Box Office in 2018 after the winner “Venom”. As a cinematographer, she has also worked on projects such as “Looking for someone” 2020 that was nominated for best experimental film at AIMAFF and Best Quarantine Story at Ediplay IFF, “Lucretia” 2020 “Yellow dream” 2021. She also worked on several Music Videos.
Jan
Boroewitsch
Camera
Jan Boroewitsch is a Berlin based DOP and editor. Encompassing fiction and documentary, his work focuses on inspiring individuals and their impactful stories regarding relevant topics. Independent productions he has worked on include the drama Gib mir deine Wärme (fiction, 2020), the Lockdown Anthology Isolation (fiction, 2021), the short film BLURRY (fiction, 2021), Sub.texte - Kampf um Freiräume (documentary, 2021) and the outdoor adventure Abenteuerland (documentary, 2022). The list of clients he has collaborated with includes Together for Future e.V., Hyperbole Medien GmbH and ZDF's content portal FUNK.
Rafael
Prado
Sound Ingenieur, Composer
Rafael Prado is a Berlin based sound designer, and has worked with multiple high profile companies such as Adidas, Mercedes and Wolt, as well as independent filmmakers and upcoming production companies of Berlin. Independent productions he has collaborated with such as Fishing Avocados (2021), and Give me Your Warmth (2020), were nominated for Toronto Film festival, Independent Spirit Awards, and Lift-off Film festival Berlin.
Alexey
Kochetkov
Composer, Violin
Alexey Kochetkov is one of the most versatile and intriguing violinists on Berlin's scene today. He is pioneering his way as a five-string violin player and exploring the possibilities of violin-computer symbiosis. In 2020, the movie “Layla in Haifa” by Amos Gitai, for which he composed original music, was nominated for the Golden Lion at the 77th Venice International Film Festival.

Starring: Elisa Carrillo Cabrera, Mikhail Kaniskin
Director: Veronika Pokoptceva
Producers: Veronika Pokoptceva, Mikhail Kaniskin
Write: Veronika Pokoptceva

Production: SAE Institute Berlin, Berllet Art Productions

SAE Institute Film Supervisor: Ehsan Haghighat

1 AC: Firas Alfakih

2 AC: Victor Santiago Martinez, Joshua Seedorf

Editor: Veronika Pokoptceva

Colorist: Tom Gregory Janson

Sound Recording: Effy Ceruti, Vitor Eduardo Loureiro, Rafael Correia Prado

Sound Design: Benjamin Zappi-Giannotti (Zappi Brothers), Effy Ceruti

Foley Recording: Benjamin Zappi-Giannotti (Zappi Brothers)

Sound Mixing: Rafael Correia Prado

Music Recording: Rafael Correia Prado

Violin by Alexey Kochetkov