When people are laughing, they are neither afraid nor suffering. This saying of ancient philosophers would certainly fit Leonid Gaidai, a famous soviet comedian.

For his entire life, he strived to do so that as many people as possible from all generations were neither afraid, nor suffering, but laughing.

Leonid Gaidai’s comedies “The Diamond Arm”, “Kidnapping, Caucasian Style”, “Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future”, “Operation Y and Shurik’s Other Adventures”, “Bootleggers”, and many others still remain popular after all these years. Quotes from his films still live on today.

Gaidai was a taciturn man in everyday life. He only truly opened up on set. The film’s creators tried to tell what kind of a person Gaidai was, how our favorite films were made, and what stories happened during filming.

Our filming crew visited Natalya Varley in Alushta, where “Kidnapping, Caucasian Style” was filmed. The actress recalled some funny and sad filming moments. The crew then headed to Mosfilm with Natalya Seleznyova, where the costumes and props from all of Gaidai’s films are still kept. The viewers will also see the unique footage from Jerusalem, the last footage of the director himself, who usually preferred to stay behind the scenes.

Cast: Nina Grebeshkova, L. Gaidai’s widow; Natalya Varley, Natalya Seleznyova, Dmitry Kharatyan, Vladimir Etush, Svetlana Svetlichnaya, Maxim Nikulin, Alexandr Zatsepin, Leonid Kanevsky, Igor Yasulovich, Alexander Loye, Karen Shakhnazarov.