Teenager Veniamin studies the Bible obsessively and comes to believe that the world is nearing its end. His studies lead him on a path to religious fanaticism, drawing him into conflict with his mother, his classmates and his biology teacher Elena, who will alone challenge him on his own ground.

For his eighth feature, Russian filmmaker Kirill Serebrennikov (Leto) incisively targets fanaticism for a gripping satire of religious oppression. Featuring a tremendous lead performance from Pyotr Skvortsov, The Student mounts a barbed attack on the Orthodox church’s iron grip on everyday life.