NUREYEV arrives at a time when our focus is once more on Russia. Not since the dark days of the Cold War have the motives, moves and politics of Russia led the world’s headlines. There is much to be learned from the behaviour of the Soviet Power which brought its entire might to bear on the defiance of a single, extraordinary dancer. What was once the KGB’s “knock at the door” is now the ping from a hack in an Inbox. Defectors are still defecting, but where to and why is far less clear. So went the 1960s, so it seems, goes today. Everything has changed, yet all is the same. With one noble exception: There will never be another Nureyev.

This striking and moving documentary from BAFTA nominated directors Jacqui and David Morris traces the extraordinary life of Rudolf Nureyev. From his birth in the 5th class carriage of a trans-Siberian train, to his dramatic leap to freedom in the West at the height of the Cold War, and unprecedented adulation as the most famous dancer in the world. The film highlights Nureyev's unlikely yet legendary partnership with Margot Fonteyn and charts his meteoric rise to the status of global cultural phenomenon. Nureyev's life plays out like the sweeping plot of a classic Russian novel. His story is Russia's story. Blending never-before-seen footage, with an original score by award-winning composer Alex Baranowski and spellbinding newly choreographed dance tableaux directed by Royal Ballet alumnus, Russell Maliphant, Nureyev is a theatrical and cinematic experience like no other. This is a portrayal as unique as the man himself.

Director - Jacqui Morris & David Morris
Producer - Jacqui Morris & Trevor Beattie
Producer/Associate Producer - Dulcie Kellett
Exec Producers - Darko Skulsky, Jane Yatsuta, Jeremy Chatterton, Aaron Lau
Production Company - Frith Street Films
DOP - Michael Wood
Choreographer - Russell Malliphant
Costume Designer - Stevie Stewart
Production Designer - David Kharaishili
Make up Designer - Marta Skalskaya
Hair Stylist - Nodira Turadzhanova
1st AD - Ina Luder
Editor - David Fairhead and Timothy Moss
Composer - Alex Baranowski
Sound Designer - Andy Cowton
Colourist - Mick Vincent
VFX Artist - Sam Brady
Shot on Location in Ukraine