Russian Ark director Alexander Sokurov, whose next film project, Faust, is set to film in Iceland, the Czech Republic, Germany and the Vatican, casts Hannah Schygulla, best known for her work with Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

Three heroes of Russian culture died this summer, marking an end to their epochs—beloved actor Oleg Yankovsky, national folk singer Lyudmila Zykina and non-conformist author Vasily Aksenov.