''Anatomy of t.A.T.u.'' (russian: Анатомия ТАТУ; ''Anatomyia TATU'', or ''А.Н.А.Т.О.М.И.Я.''), is a documentary film directed by
Vitaly Mansky
Vitaly Vsevolodovich Mansky (russian: Виталий Всеволодович Манский, uk, Віталій Всеволодович Манський; born 2 December 1963 in Lviv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union) is a Russian documentary f ...
, chronicling the lives of the group
t.A.T.u.
t.A.T.u. (russian: Тату, ) were a Russian music duo that consisted of Lena Katina and Julia Volkova. The singers were part of children's music group Neposedy before being managed by producer and director Ivan Shapovalov and signing with R ...
on their promotional tour in
USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, but most of all, revealing the girls' true lives, including their sexuality.
The movie's main selling point was the revelation that neither
Julia Volkova
Yulia Olegovna Volkova (russian: Юлия Олеговна Волкова; born 20 February 1985), better known by the alternative spelling of Julia, is a Russian singer best known for being a member of the Russian girl group t.A.T.u., along ...
nor
Lena Katina
Elena Sergeevna Katina (russian: link=no, Елена Сергеевна Катина; born 4 October 1984), better known as Lena Katina, is a Russian musician who gained fame as one half of the pop/electronica duo t.A.T.u. She started her care ...
were
lesbian
A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
s. They stated that it was all just a marketing strategy; a brainchild developed by their manager,
Ivan Shapovalov
Ivan Nikolayevich Shapovalov (Cyrillic: Иван Николаевич Шаповалов, born 28 May 1966) is a musical producer based in Moscow, Russia. He is best known for being the founder and former executive producer/manager for t.A.T.u.
...
. Volkova said that before t.A.T.u., she had never thought about girls in that way, but during t.A.T.u. she had fallen in love with another girl, although the physical aspect had not developed beyond kissing.
The film also showed that both girls are religious. Katina visits church and goes to confession regularly; she believes that her career forces her to do many sinful things. Volkova, on the other hand, is ready to do anything perceived as popular in the musical world. She isn't afraid of anything besides loneliness. Katina is shyer, and said that she wouldn't ever have sex with anyone on camera.
Another aspect of the documentary was drug use. Volkova admitted to having once taken
heroin
Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...
as part of a bet to prove that she had "no need for such things in
erlife." The film also included scenes of Ivan Shapovalov and Beata Ardeeva smoking
marijuana
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...
. Also, it shows Volkova and Katina smoking regular cigarettes, which they do even though it may negatively affect their voices.
The film reveals that Volkova had problems with her voice for a long period, which nearly killed the group. Besides this, Volkova admitted that she also had an unwanted pregnancy, and she was forced to have an abortion. Volkova also admitted to having a boyfriend, a married man,
Pavel 'Pasha' Sidorov.
This documentary stirred debate on topic of censorship on Russian television due to its slogan, ''
Hui Voine!'', the use of foul language, and depictions of drug us
Home media
After the show premiered on television, a DVD was made available for a limited time in 2004. It used the original Russian audio track, but included English subtitles.
External links
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T.A.T.u.
Documentary films about women in music
Russian documentary films