Gunpowder Man
By Anton Dyakov
Synopsis
"Gunpowder Man" centers on Petr, a solitary baker navigating a society where human bodies become commodities in service to the powerful. After a fleeting connection with Elena, a copper-haired nurse whose warmth briefly illuminates his world, Petr awakens to find himself fundamentally altered—the most vital part of himself literally taken from him.
His search for answers reveals only emptiness where Elena once existed. Marked by physical and emotional scars, Petr drifts between memories of inherited valor, the brutal realities of war, and chance encounters that reopen wounds never truly healed.
When he unexpectedly crosses paths with Elena in her new life—untouchable now in her connections to power—Petr begins a final journey toward the darkened theater where happiness once seemed possible. In the flickering light of a film they once shared, he confronts the ultimate question: what remains when everything meaningful has been stripped away?
Mission
"Gunpowder Man" reveals the human cost of wars initiated by the powerful and fought by ordinary citizens. The film presents a world where pain and vulnerability are visceral realities, where blood and flesh have tangible weight, and where the value of individual human life has been lost.
Through Petr's journey, the film examines exploitation, betrayal, trauma, and the search for meaning in a system viewing ordinary people as disposable. By following one man's path from loneliness to connection, to betrayal, to military service, and finally to self-destruction, "Gunpowder Man" reflects on how war corrodes both collective and individual souls, leaving only hollow shells of once-complete human beings.
About the film
"Gunpowder Man" is a drama directed by Anton Dyakov that blends tragedy, melodrama, and fantastical elements to portray life in a society consumed by perpetual war. The film contrasts sterile environments of hospitals and bakeries with chaotic war zones through distinctive visual language.
The screenplay, titled "A Foreign Heart" ("Чужое сердце") in its original Russian, was completed in 2022. With its unflinching depiction of medical exploitation, military violence, and personal disintegration, the film examines the psychological aftermath of societal collapse.
The production brings together international talent to create a universal story about human value in societies where that value has been forgotten. Through its poetic visual approach, "Gunpowder Man" transforms one man's tragedy into a statement about the dehumanizing effects of war, political corruption, and systemic exploitation.