DAU

DAU (2026)

Inspired by the physicists who built the Soviet atomic bomb, the film DAU follows a brilliant Greek-born physicist from 1928 through four tumultuous decades in the USSR. Driven to uncover the laws of the universe, the idealistic Dau is drawn into state service to help create one of history’s deadliest weapons. Inside a secret research institute, life is governed by scientific ambition, power, surveillance and privilege. As his autonomy erodes, Dau seeks freedom beyond his marriage through a succession of affairs, gradually losing both himself and his capacity to love. At once an intimate portrait of a man in pursuit of happiness and freedom and a vast fresco of a society founded on violence and ideology, DAU traces the small compromises that shape a life and alter the course of history.

Date of release
2026-09-09
TMDB
6.9 / 10 (4)
Runtime
3h 15m
Genres
Drama, Thriller
Director
Ilya Khrzhanovsky
Collection
DAU Cinema

Casting

Interesting facts

DAU is a 2026 drama film directed by Ilya Khrzhanovsky. Inspired by the lives of Soviet physicists who developed the atomic bomb, the film follows the brilliant scientist Dau across four decades of life in the Soviet Union, from 1928 to 1968.

Production

The palette of the Leningrad filming block, set in 1928, was "borrowed from the paintings of Pavel Filonov." Lol Crawley contributed as cinematographer, and Boris Shapovalov as production designer. The costumes were designed by Alexandra Smolina, Alexandra Timofeeva, Lyubov Mingazitinova, Irina Tsvetkova, and Stefania Gaurogkaitė.

The Kharkiv period, covering 1932–1938, is characterized by a gradual reduction in colour intensity and by crumpled, yielding textures—"the world of little earthen people". The cinematographer was Manuel Alberto Claro, who specifically emphasized the role of Constructivist architecture in shaping the visual language. Later in this filming block, Jürgen Jürges took over as cinematographer.

More than 35 urban spaces and sites were used for filming, including Poltavskyi Shliakh, Station Square, Kharkiv Zoo, Vorobiov Lane, Sumska Street and the area around the Taras Shevchenko monument, Freedom Square, Darwin and Krasnoarmeyskaya streets, the Railway Workers’ Palace of Culture, Derzhprom, and others.

The first major Kharkiv crowd scene was filmed on Poltavskyi Shliakh. The filming area extended for approximately six kilometres: modern advertising along the street was covered, the streetlights were redesigned, and period cars, trams, and market stalls were installed. The crowd-scene area was divided into sectors, each supervised by a separate director or foreman.

Also in 2008, construction of the Institute set on the site of the former Dynamo swimming pool was launched. It became the principal and defining location for the entire next block — the Moscow shooting block.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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