Directed by Lev Prudkin, Bleeding Blue Bird, a surreal symbolist metadrama, will have its International Premiere on 16 October at the Chelsea Film Festival in New York starring Arthur Darvill (Doctor Who, Broadchurch) and Hannah Arterton (Walking on Sunshine).
A theatre troupe staging Maeterlinck’s The Blue Bird spirals into chaos when rehearsal and reality collapse into a haunting struggle for control.
Inspired by Symbolist theatre, the film engages with Maeterlinck’s legacy rather than adapting the play. “With Bleeding Blue Bird I wanted to explore what happens when art escapes the stage and invades life,” says director Lev Prudkin.
With a soundtrack featuring Depeche Mode, Actress, and Else, alongside an original score by Jim Cornick and Matt Loveridge, the film fuses avant-garde music with cinema in a striking exploration of obsession and transformation.
Produced by Vladimir Prudkin with Mirage Adventures Studios and Sterling Pictures, the film was shot at Kyiv’s historic Theatre on Podil.
Executive Producer Michael Riley brought international production experience, with credits including Sugarhouse, Chosen, and Crowhurst.
Prudkin is the grandson of Mark Prudkin, a celebrated actor of the Moscow Art Theatre and a student of Konstantin Stanislavski. As a child he spent much of his time backstage, watching productions from the director’s box and imagining the theatre as a place where wonderful and unexpected things might happen.
Now, with Bleeding Blue Bird, he finds recognition on the international stage in New York.
The Chelsea Film Festival has been recognized by The New York Times for presenting works about global issues, named one of the top 10 film festivals in North America by USA Today, and described as a global hub for film buffs by Fox 5 New York.
The 2025 edition will run October 15–19 at Regal Theatres Union Square in New York City, with additional online screenings through October 31.
Bleeding Blue Bird confronts how performance can overwhelm reality, exploring the fragile line between imagination and lived experience. By drawing on a century-old play and placing it within a modern, surreal frame, the film asks what happens when creative vision crosses into personal reality.
For full screening schedule, please visit chelseafilm.org.