(EMAILWIRE.COM, April 12, 2012 ) Los Angeles, CA -- Film THE PYRAMMMID is about a loner, a mathematician, who started one of the biggest financial pyramids of all times, his rise and his fall. Film was released in Russia on Apr 7, 2011, with a lot of critical acclaim and moderate-to-good box office results. Story is based on the real events, mixing stylish fiction and the original documentary footage in an interesting way.
Film was described in local press as a fresh and modern view of the events that took place in the 90's, during the times of the political, economical and moral vacuum of post-communism Russia. Theme of the film rings very contemporary with the latest developments in the world financial system and its crisis. Many have attempted the same, but before Bernie Madoff and Alan Greenspan, before Enron and Fannie May, there were Sergey Mamontov and the MMM of Russia.
Russia. It's 1994. Socialism has already been destroyed. Capitalism has not arrived yet.
There is mass privatization happening in the country. The largest enterprises built in the Soviet empire for 70 years, are being sold at the auctions. Foreign investors are not allowed to buy at the auctions, no one in the country has any money, except for a few banks which are close to the ruling elite. They have the exclusive right to buy at the auctions, and practically for peanuts they acquire all the best there is in the Russian economy.
On February 1, 1994. an individual, an unknown mathematician Sergei Mamontov, announces the creation of "MMM" company - some kind of credit union poised to acquire public investment. The founder of "MMM" prints and sells his own shares, which he calls - the "notes". These "notes" are traded on a simple principle: "they are always more expensive today, than they were yesterday." Everywhere across the country, thousands of points of sale are being opened, selling the "MMM" notes. The "MMM" has bought a quarter of all advertising time on all the national channels to run it's ads. Ordinary citizens begin trading using the "MMM" notes, along with the rubles and dollars. The number of the investors has been increased by a million people a week.
In the beginning of August 1994, six months after the establishment of the "MMM", the company was in control of 50 to 70 billion dollars. On August 4, 1994., immediately following the arrest of the CEO of the "MMM", 17 trucks with cash have left the company's headquarters in an unknown direction. 8% of "Gazprom" shares, bought by the "MMM" in privatization auctions, also have disappeared. For the record: as of January 1, 2011 8% of Gazprom shares were worth 12.5 billion dollars. As a result of bankruptcy of "MMM" about 9,500 Russian families have lost their apartments and were left out with no livelihood. 980 investors in "MMM" became (dollar) millionaires in six months. 24 depositors who have lost everything, later committed suicide.
Individuals and organizations responsible for the theft of the "MMM", have never been identified. The defendant in this case was one person only - the head of the company Sergey Mamontov. In early 2011, the founder of the "MMM" announced the launch of another international Ponzi scheme on the Internet. In the book Mamontov wrote in jail, he explains that the "MMM-2011" has been designed to collapse and reform the "unfair" world's financial system.
Movie will play on Apr 16, at 7PM at the WorldFest Houston 2012 at the AMC Theatres - Studio 30, Houston, TX.
About Goran Pavicevic
Since moving to the US in 1981, Goran Pavicevic has become a highly acclaimed Director of Photography in many feature films.
