Vika Push
Vika Push
Trying to complete a pickup-class assignment, a shy girl Di slips past her confident rivals and ends up on a rooftop smoking area where she finds Lesha - a guy about to jump.
GENRE: Comedy
LANGUAGES: Russian, English (subtitles)
ASPECT RATIO: 21:9
SOUND MIX: 2:0 Stereo
FRAME RATE: 25 FPS
Pickup began as a small comedic idea inspired by today’s constant informational noise. It quickly grew into a script that captured the hearts of the cast and the crew.
It was important for us to reflect a part of our cultural heritage. Thus, we shoot with vintage Soviet lenses, era-appropriate costumes, and chose an old Soviet factory as our main location.
Through this work, I wanted to convey a sense of loneliness and the fear of being an outsider – the feeling that you are the only one who can’t make it work. Pickup shows how endless instructions on what to do and say to be loved pull us away from what people actually fall for: ourselves.
Elizaveta Ishchenko
Di
Arseny Sergeev
Lesha
Evgeniya Lazareva
Oksana
Pickup is a dark comedy short that explores a sharp trend in Russia: the rise of courses promising fast love, wealth, and personal transformation. In reality, many of these programs rely on psychological manipulation, exploit people’s fears and insecurities, and often encourage violations of personal boundaries.
Approaching the subject through satire rather than moral judgment, Pickup questions the idea of love as something that must be earned.
After reading the screenplay, leading young actors joined the project with enthusiasm. Principal photography took place in October 2025 at a former Soviet factory that now houses Viktoriia’s alma mater — Moscow Film School.
The Soviet aesthetic was a deliberate choice. It emphasises the irony of how radically the lives and mindsets of millennials differ from their parents, who grew up in an entirely different country with entirely different beliefs — the USSR. To achieve this visual language, the team sourced costumes, props, and even lenses from across the country and from their own families.
Pickup premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in February 2026, marking the film’s first festival screening.
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Viktoriia Lapushkina – Director, Screenwriter, Co-producer
Viktoriia is a screenwriter, director, and producer working on Russian and international projects. She graduated from the Moscow Film School with a concentration in filmmaking and screenwriting and began her international festival journey with her diploma short comedy ‘Second Chance’. Her previous background in marketing, including education and work experience in Russia and the U.S., has shaped her understanding of different markets and work cultures. Alongside her work in the Russian film industry, international collaboration and co-productions remain a key part of her passion and mission.
Michael Solovyev – Director of Photography, Colorist
Moscow-based cinematographer. Has been working in film since 2012 and graduated from VGIK in 2016. Shot dozens of short films, some of which received awards at various international festivals. Spent many years shooting commercials and music videos. To date, his main body of work includes 9 major projects: 5 feature films and 4 TV series.
Elizaveta Ishchenko – Actress
Made her film debut at the age of 13 in the thriller A Good Man, directed by Konstantin Bogomolov. At 14, she played Masha in the series She’s the Fool. At 15, Elizaveta landed the lead role in the series Alice Can’t Wait, directed by Natalia Meshchaninova. For her role as Alice, Elizaveta received her first major award, winning Heroine of the New Season at the New Season Film Festival. She later received the Chekhov Moscow Art Theatre Prize in the Film category, as well as the Advance award from KinoReporter magazine.
Elizaveta is currently a second-year acting student at HSE University, enrolled in the Specialist Acting Program under Svetlana Efremova – a professor and Dean of the Drama Department at California State University, Fullerton.
As of 2026, Elizaveta Ishchenko has appeared in 19 projects across thriller, drama, and comedy.
Arseny Sergeev – Actor
Arseny is a theater and film actor. Born in a Russian village, he moved to Moscow in 2014, where he was accepted into the Russian Institute of Theatre Arts after passing a competitive selection process to study acting. He trained under Oleg Kudryashov, a master teacher known for his work with the Stanislavski system.
Following his training, Arseny began working actively in film and television. His notable roles include Tikhon in Razreshite Obratitsya, Syomka in Land of Legends, Baragozin in Kiberderevnya (Russian Cyberpunk Farm) – a series that won the Episodic Spotlight award at the Richmond International Film Festival (RIFF), with Arseny appearing at the opening of the winning episode – as well as Lyova in The Poor Abramoviches and Zhenka in Central Russia Vampires.
Arseny is currently performing in Moscow in the acclaimed stage production ‘Mayakovsky. I Myself’, playing the role of David Burliuk.
Evgenia Lazareva - Actress
Evgenia Lazareva is a professional actress, singer and composer, trained at Amedia School, combining musical artistry with acting performance
Olga Malysheva – Editor
Graduated with honors from the Moscow Film School in 2021 she has worked as a screenwriter and film editor on projects for digital platforms and television. In 2023, she became a finalist at the New York International Film Awards for Best Editing for Second Chance, directed by Victoria Lapushkina. She has also written feature films and sketches for the artist Brickspacer. Worked as an assistant editor on the series Empty Room, produced by MC2 Production.
Lika Nechausova – Costume Designer
Graduated from Moscow Film School in 2021. Worked as an assistant costume designer on TV series and feature films. Her credits as a costume designer include Not Child’s Play, Electric Boogie (Küstendorf Film and Music Festival, official selection, 2022), and Happy Monday (Koroche Short Film Festival, winner, 2022).
Panna Fedorova – 1st Assistant Director
Graduated from Lomonosov Moscow State University in 2018 with a degree in Art History and Theory. Previously worked in contemporary art. In 2021–2022, studied at the Moscow Film School, where she directed her first short film, Deceptive Vision. She currently works as a director (including the music video Last Drag) and as a First Assistant Director in film.Her credits include projects such as Hands Up, Brothers, and Son-in-Law. She has also worked as an assistant director on an adaptation of the famous Strugatsky brothers’ story ‘Hard to Be a God’.
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