After almost a year in festival rounds, the searing, heartfelt film “Firebird” is now here. From director Peeter Rebane and based on the book The Story of Roman by Sergey Fetisov, the film tells the story of Sergey (Tom Prior who also co-wrote the script with Rebane), a troubled young private who falls in love with a daring fighter pilot (Oleg Zagorodnii) in the Soviet Air Force during the Cold War.

I sat down with Prior to talk about his interest in co-writing and starring in the film, the disruptions the film faced during its festival rounds (especially in Russian film festivals), and what he hopes viewers will get after watching “Firebird.”

“Firebird” is now out in theaters.