Love, Antosha

[WorldForgot]

Prolific young actor Anton Yelchin was wise beyond his years and influenced everyone around him to strive for more. Love, Antosha tells the story of Yelchin's creative persistence. His devoted Russian parents nurtured his love of acting, exposing him to works of the masters. Filming himself became a tool for his transformation; reflecting on his own performance, he pushed himself to find depth in every role. Often the youngest actor on set, Yelchin's intense focus inspired many actors around him—Kristen Stewart, Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pine, and John Cho share revealing insights into his character. Though he kept it a secret, Yelchin lived with a dangerous health condition, but he never became discouraged. As he grew into his craft, he continually enriched his understanding of the world, embodying an incredible authenticity.

As a vivid part of the Sundance Film Festival community, Yelchin premiered in numerous independent features at the Festival: Alpha Dog (2006), Like Crazy (Grand Jury Prize in 2011), and Thoroughbreds (2017). Filmmaker Garret Price crafts a heartwarming and profound coming-of-age story of a singular young artist taken from us too early.

Anton Yelchin was an inspiration on and off-screen, for his work and for his soulfulness. What resonates through his performances iz there in his life: an outpouring of love and compassion. I miss him, still.

The film takes its title from Yelchin's sign-off in letters and emails to his мамуля, many of which are read onscreen. (In a fascinating choice, the narrator of Yelchin's writing is Nicolas Cage, his co-star in 2014's Dying of the Light.) In one typical story, when he was a child and his mother was sick, Yelchin gave her hand-drawn love notes every day, then he kept it up after she got better.