True to life? Yes, sadly.

The Brest Fortress was the first military site in the Soviet Union to be hit by the German army on 22 June 22 1941. Completely cut off from the main forces, its 9,000-strong garrison put up fierce resistance for more than a week. Individual soldiers continued to fight almost until the end of July.

The movie was shot jointly by Russian and Belarusian filmmakers. During the shooting, which took place on the territory of the original fortress, the remains of Soviet soldiers, unexploded bombs and shells were discovered.

The film is told from the perspective of an old man telling his grandson about the battle that he had lived through whilst the same age as his grandson. The main character ( at the time of the battle) is an orphan who lives in the Fortress with his older brother, both are in the Red Army .

DIRECTOR: Aleksandr Kott was born on 22 February 1973 in Moscow, USSR [now Russia]. He is a director and producer, known for Test (2014), Fotograf (1998) and Insayt (2015). He is married to Anna Tsukanova-Kott. They have one child.

Aleksandr has a twin brother, Vladimir, who is also director and writer.