Childhood

The native village of Alexander Sokurov is now not on the map of Russia. In 1956, the settlement was flooded during the start-up of the Irkutsk hydroelectric power station.

The film director grew up in the family of a serviceman, a participant in the Great Patriotic War. Dad was forced to constantly travel on business trips to different duty stations. Therefore, the family traveled around the cities along with the head of the family. Alexander went to school in the Polish People's Republic, and received a matriculation certificate in Turkmenistan.

In 1968, Sokurov entered the Gorky State University at the Faculty of History. And during his studies, the young man worked in the editorial office of the artistic broadcasting of local television. The student released his first TV programs at the age of 19. Then several TV films under his leadership, live TV programs, in particular sports ones, went on the air. In 1974, Sokurov graduated from the university and received a diploma in history.

A year later, Sokurov entered the All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography at the directing department. He studied at the workshop of directing popular science films under the guidance of A. Zguridi. Alexander studied so well that he was given a scholarship from S. Eisenstein. By the way, during his studies, he met Yuri Arabov, he is a screenwriter, as well as the main colleague and ally in the work of Sokurov.

Directing work

In 1979, Alexander Sokurov passed his exams as an external student. The novice director was forced to graduate from the university in advance due to the growing conflict with the leaders of the State Film Agency and the administration of the institute.

The young man was accused of formalism, as well as anti-Soviet sentiments. Because of this, all student work of the student was rejected.

Therefore, the director's first feature film called "The Lonely Voice of a Man", which was shot based on the works of Andrei Platonov (a little later, the film received a number of prestigious awards at festivals) was not counted by the institute's management as a graduation work. The tape was supposed to be destroyed, but a banal theft saved the footage: Arabov and Sokurov broke into the archive, stole the reel, and put another, not so significant one in its place.

By the way, it was at this time that Alexander Sokurov was morally and professionally supported by director Andrei Tarkovsky. He quite highly appreciated the first work of a novice director.

“Watch a movie called The Lonely Voice of Man. The director plays in the film not actors and not an amateur, but ordinary people from the street. Moreover, there is a certain strange style in this, a cut, that is, some strange aspects, there are pieces that I, I do not hide, envy. I can't take it off. I can say that in other scenes I could have risen higher, but I have never done this. There is a black-and-white segment in the film that was filmed in rapid motion and silent. And it's not just one frame.


There are four brilliant shots in the tape. And that's just for one picture. It is worth remembering Vigo. He has only two films, but he has already become a genius, has remained for centuries. Sokurov has a few strange things, inexplicable, sometimes stupid, incoherent, but he is a genius. And this is the hand of a genius!” said a colleague of Alexander Sokurov.

Alexander wanted to work at Mosfilm, but he was categorically not satisfied with the working conditions there. And on the recommendation of Tarkovsky in 1980, the director was enrolled at the Lenfilm film studio. It was there that Sokurov shot his first feature films. At the same time, the director collaborated with a documentary film studio in Leningrad. And at different times there he released all his documentaries.

The first pictures taken by Alexander Sokurov in Leningrad, by the way, caused a negative reaction in Goskino and from party bodies. The man stated many times that he was assigned a place in the Syktyvkar camp. And for quite a long time, until the end of 1980, not a single film by Sokurov was allowed to be released.

Even in the most difficult times, when the director was on the verge of physical death, Tarkovsky twice organized Alexander's trip abroad. But Sokurov, in his own words, could not leave the country because of the Russian language and the spiritual treasures of the Hermitage. He did not want to part with all this.

Alexander Sokurov on video

At the end of the 80s of the last century, films that were previously shot by Sokurov were released. Moreover, the tapes represented Russia at international film festivals with great success. Such victories inspired the director and began to work actively. In the 80s and 90s, Sokurov shot several films at once a year. And he still has time for charity radio programs for young people. At the same time, he worked with a group of young directors at Lenfilm. On the eve of the new century, he hosted the program "Sokurov's Island" on St. Petersburg television. The TV programs discussed the place of cinema in culture.

By the way, since the mid-90s, Alexander Sokurov, together with his colleagues, has been mastering video technologies. This he continues to do to this day.

Sokurov's group made several documentaries, some of which were commissioned by Japanese TV channels, with the support of Japanese friends.

The director shot about 20 feature films, including "Eclipse Days", "Mother and Son", "Moloch", "Taurus". As well as documentaries, which are much more, for example, "Moscow Elegy", "Petersburg Elegy", "Soviet Elegy".

Awards and recognition

Director Sokurov was a participant and laureate of numerous international festivals. In a number of countries around the world, retrospectives of Alexander's films are organized almost every year.

In the piggy bank of the master are awards from international film festivals, the Tarkovsky Prize, FIPRESCI. Alexander Sokurov became a laureate of the Russian State Prize in 1997, as well as the Vatican Prize in 1998 "Third Millennium Prize". 43 times the director was nominated for prizes of various film competitions, 26 times he won.

In Murmansk

In 1995, Alexander Sokurov, by decision of the European Film Academy, was included in the top hundred directors of world cinema.

In 2010, Sokurov's workshop was opened at the Kabardino-Balkarian State University named after Berbekov. 15 students were recruited there.

Personal life of Alexander Sokurov

Alexander Sokurov lives in St. Petersburg and not only implements his creative endeavors. The director is at the helm of a public group of urban activists, this is the Sokurov Group, which talks with the authorities and protects old Petersburg from destruction.

In 2011, Sokurov received the Golden Lion and the Ecumenical Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival. He was awarded such an honor for the film "Faust", this is the final film of the tetralogy about power. During the award ceremony, Darren Aronofsky, chairman of the jury, said that "this film is life-changing for everyone who sees the film."

Born on June 14, 1951 in the village of Podorvikha, Irkutsk Region (in 1956 it was flooded during the start-up of the Irkutsk hydroelectric power station) in the family of a military man, a participant in the Great Patriotic War. Due to the fact that Sokurov's father was often sent to various duty stations, the family was forced to move with him. A. Sokurov began to study at a school in the Polish People's Republic, and finished in Turkmenistan. In 1968 he entered the Faculty of History of Gorky State University. During his studies, he worked in the editorial office of the artistic broadcasting of Gorky Television, where at the age of 19 he released his first television programs: several television films, live television programs, including sports programs. In 1974, Sokurov defended his degree in history and completed his studies at the university.

In 1975 he entered the directing department of the All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography (workshop for directing popular science films under the direction of A. M. Zguridi). For excellent studies, he received a scholarship from S. Eisenstein. During the period of study, Sokurov met Yuri Arabov, a screenwriter, his main ally and colleague in creativity. In 1979, having passed the exams as an external student, the director was forced to finish his studies a year ahead of schedule due to the growing conflict with the administration of the institute and the leaders of the Goskino: he was accused of formalism and anti-Soviet sentiments, because of which his student work was categorically rejected. As a result, the first feature film "The Lonely Voice of a Man" based on the novel by Andrey Platonov (which later received several prestigious festival awards) was not counted as a diploma work by the institute's management. The picture was to be destroyed, but it was saved by a banal theft - Sokurov and Arabov hacked into the archive, stole a reel, putting another, less significant one in its place.

Sokurov wanted to work at Mosfilm, but the working conditions there did not suit him. On the recommendation of A. Tarkovsky, in 1980 Sokurov was enrolled at the Lenfilm film studio, where he shot his first feature films. At the same time, he collaborated with the Leningrad Documentary Film Studio, where he released all his documentary works at various times.

The first films made by the director in Leningrad caused a negative reaction from both the State Film Agency and party bodies. Sokurov repeatedly stated that he was destined for a place in the camp near Syktyvkar. For a long time, until the late 1980s, none of his films were allowed to be released. In difficult times, when Sokurov was threatened with physical death, Tarkovsky twice organized his trip abroad, but the director, according to him, was kept by the Russian language and the spiritual treasures of the Hermitage, with which he most of all did not want to part.

In the late 1980s, films shot by Sokurov were not only released, but also represented Russian cinema at international film festivals with great success. In 1980-1990, the director worked intensively, often shooting several films a year. At the same time, he takes part in the work of charity programs for young people on the radio, works with a group of young novice directors at the Lenfilm film studio. In 1998-1999, he hosted a series of programs "Sokurov's Island" on St. Petersburg television, in which questions of the place of cinema in modern culture are discussed. Since the mid-1990s, Sokurov and his colleagues began mastering video technology, which continues to this day. Sokurov's group filmed several video documentaries, including commissioned by Japanese television channels, thanks to the enthusiasm and participation of Japanese friends.

The director became a participant and laureate of many international festivals, retrospectives of his films are held almost every year in different countries of the world. He has repeatedly received awards from international film festivals, the FIPRESCI Prize, the Tarkovsky Prize, is a laureate of the State Prize of Russia (1997) and a laureate of the Vatican Prize - "Third Millennium Prize" (1998). Sokurov was nominated 43 times for the prizes of the most prestigious film competitions, of which he won 26 times.

In 1995, according to the decision of the European Film Academy, the name of Alexander Sokurov was included in the top hundred directors of world cinema.

In 2010, Sokurov's workshop was opened at KBSU (Kabardino-Balkarian State University named after H. M. Berbekov), in Nalchik. 15 students were recruited. The director lives in St. Petersburg, where, in addition to the implementation of creative endeavors, he heads a public group of urban activists - the so-called "Sokurov Group", leading a dialogue with the city authorities on the topic of protecting old St. Petersburg from destruction.

On September 10, 2011, at the closing ceremony of the 68th Venice Film Festival, Alexander Sokurov received the Golden Lion and the Ecumenical Jury Prize for the film Faust, which completes the cycle he called the tetralogy of power. At the presentation of the main prize, jury chairman Darren Aronofsky noted that "the decision was unanimous: this is the film that changes the lives of everyone who sees it."

In December 2011, the Consul General of Japan in St. Petersburg, on behalf of the Japanese imperial family, presented Sokurov with the honorary Order of the Rising Sun with golden rays. At the ceremony, the director admitted to a special attitude towards Japan and spoke in favor of Russia returning "the lands that belonged to the Japanese people."

Awards

  • 1987 - Bronze Leopard of the Locarno Film Festival for the film "The Lonely Voice of a Man";
  • 1987 - Moscow Film Festival - prize of the out-of-competition program;
  • 1987 - nomination for the Golden Bear of the Berlin Film Festival for the film "Mournful insensibility";
  • 1988 - nomination for the Nika award for the film "The Lonely Voice of a Man";
  • 1988 - nomination at the first presentation of the European Film Awards for the film "Days of the Eclipse";
  • 1989 - the prize of the Berlin Film Festival in the framework of the forum of new cinema for the film "Days of the Eclipse";
  • 1991 - Rotterdam Film Festival: FIPRESCI Prize for the film "Circle Two" and KNF Award for the films "Elegy" and "Simple Elegy";
  • 1995 - by decision of the European Film Academy, Alexander Sokurov was recognized as one of the hundred best directors of world cinema;
  • 1997 - State Prize of Russia;
  • 1997 - Prizes of the A. Tarkovsky Moscow Film Festival, Russian film critics and a special jury prize for the film "Mother and Son";
  • 1997 - Honored Art Worker of Russia;
  • 1998 - Laureate of the Vatican Prize - "Award" Third Millennium "". Awarded by John Paul II;
  • 1999 - IFF in Cannes: prize for the best script for the film "Moloch";
  • 1999 - nomination for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes International Film Festival for the film "Moloch";
  • 1999 - nomination at the European Film Awards for the film "Moloch";
  • 2001 - State Prize of Russia (For the films "Moloch" and "Taurus");
  • 2001 - awards of the Guild of Film Critics of Russia for the best camera work and the best director of the film "Taurus";
  • 2001 - nomination for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes International Film Festival for the film "Taurus";
  • 2001 - nomination at the European Film Awards for the film "Elegy of the Road";
  • 2002 - Prize for visual decision for the film Russian Ark at the Toronto International Film Festival;
  • 2002 - Nika Award for Best Film, Best Cinematography and Directing for the film "Taurus";
  • 2002 - Special prize at the IFF in Sao Paulo for the overall contribution to cinema;
  • 2002 - Toronto Film Festival: prize for the film "Russian Ark";
  • 2002 - nomination for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes International Film Festival for the film "Russian Ark";
  • 2002 - nomination at the European Film Awards for the film "Russian Ark";
  • 2003 - FIPRESCI Prize at the Cannes International Film Festival for the film "Father and Son";
  • 2003 - "Freedom Award", established by the Polish director Andrzej Wajda and the Philip Morris company;
  • 2004 - People's Artist of Russia;
  • 2004 - "Nika" award for the film "Russian Ark";
  • 2004 - Silver Condor, the prize of the Argentine Film Critics Association for the film "Russian Ark";
  • 2005 - nomination for the Golden Bear of the Berlin Film Festival for the film "The Sun";
  • 2005 - Yerevan Film Festival, the best film of the competition - "The Sun";
  • 2006 - Honorary Leopard of the Locarno Film Festival for a special contribution to cinema;
  • 2007 - nomination for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for the film "Alexandra";
  • 2007 - Robert Bresson Prize "For spiritual quest in cinema" at the Venice International Film Festival;
  • 2007 - Winner of the Tarkovsky Prize;
  • 2010 - All-Russian award "Heritage Keepers" (Pskov). Nomination: "Feat";
  • 2010 - Mexican Digital Cinema Award "El Pochote";
  • 2010 - "Heavenly Line" (award for social activities in the field of urban protection of St. Petersburg);
  • 2011 - "Golden Lion" (main prize) of the 68th Venice Film Festival for the film "Faust".
  • 2011 - Order of the Rising Sun (Japan)

Filmography

Movies

  • 1978-1987 - The lonely voice of a man
  • 1980 - Demoted
  • 1986 - Empire
  • 1983-1987 - Mournful insensitivity
  • 1988 - Eclipse Days
  • 1989 - Save and Save
  • 1990 - Circle two
  • 1992 - Stone
  • 1993 - Silent Pages
  • 1997 - Mother and son
  • 1999 - Moloch
  • 2000 - Taurus
  • 2002 - Russian Ark
  • 2003 - Father and son
  • 2004 - Sun
  • 2007 - Alexandra
  • 2011 - Faust

Documentaries

  • 1974 - The most earthly worries
  • 1975 - Summer of Maria Voinova
  • 1978 - The last day of a rainy summer
  • 1978-1988 - Maria
  • 1979 - Sonata for Hitler
  • 1981 - Alto sonata. Dmitry Shostakovich
  • 1982 - And nothing else
  • 1984 - Evening sacrifice
  • 1985 - Patience work
  • 1986 - Elegy
  • 1986 - Moscow elegy
  • 1990 - Petersburg elegy
  • 1990 - Soviet elegy
  • 1990 - To the events in Transcaucasia
  • 1991 - A simple elegy
  • 1991 - Leningrad retrospective (1957-1990)
  • 1991 - An example of intonation
  • 1992 - Elegy from Russia
  • 1995 - Soldier's dream
  • 1995 - Spiritual Voices
  • 1996 - Eastern elegy
  • 1996 - Robert. Happy life
  • 1997 - Humble life
  • 1997 - Petersburg diary. Opening of the monument to Dostoevsky
  • 1998 - Petersburg diary. Kozintsev's apartment
  • 1998 - Duty
  • 1998 - Knot. Conversations with Solzhenitsyn
  • 1999 - dolce ... (gently)
  • 2001 - Elegy of the road
  • 2004 - Petersburg diary. Mozart. Requiem
  • 2006 - Elegy of life: Rostropovich, Vishnevskaya
  • 2009 - Intonations
  • 2009 - Reading the blockade book

Alexander Sokur, whose personal life, wife and children we will talk about in the article, became recognizable thanks to the filming of films that are still popular today.

Alexander Nikolayevich Sokurov is a great Soviet and Russian film director and screenwriter. This is a person who certainly invests with his soul in each of his films, who knows how to tell the actors how to make their characters 100% alive and real.

Alexander Sokurov in his youth

Behind Alexander is not only honorary titles, which have become a formality for him, behind him is world recognition and his contribution to world cinema. The modern personal life of Alexander Sokurov is in no way connected with children, since he could not find a wife for himself.

Born June 14, 1951. Then still a child and far from being a director, he grew up in the village of Podorvikha, in the Irkutsk region. If Alexander began to study in Poland, then he completed his studies only in Turkmenistan - this happened because of the work of his father, who was a military man and was often sent from place to place. Alexander Sokurov from early childhood understood that his personal life and children were of the greatest importance to him, but he still failed to find his beloved.

Directed by Alexander Sokurov

The faculty chosen by Alexander could hardly be the basis for him to become a great director in the future - he began with the Faculty of History. In the process of training, which is especially interesting, he got into the team involved in television broadcasts, and was very interested in the relevant processes. As Sokurov himself later writes, the atmosphere of creativity here was many times higher than in the study of history, where you get acquainted with what has already passed.

Here, for the first time, Alexander Sokurov felt a keen desire to create himself, create forms and make useful decisions. As a result, for the first time he will start creating a full-fledged television program at the age of 19.

This will be followed by television films, live programs and much more, which will allow him to gain knowledge and experience in a very serious team.

Alexander Sokurov - the first attempts at filming a movie

Remarkably, Alexander still did not quit studying history and in 1974 received a long-awaited diploma. But at that time Alexander Sokurov failed to establish his personal life, he could not find a wife, have children, and gave himself completely to the cinema.

Becoming a director

Professional training as a director begins for Sokurov in 1975. He comes to the disposal of A. M. Zguridi, who was then engaged in scientific paintings and was able to teach Alexander a lot. Sokurov coped with his studies perfectly, as a result of which he received an Eisenstein scholarship.

It was during this training that Sokurov met Yuri Arabov, who became his friend and staff writer for a long time. Due to accusations of anti-Soviet sentiments, Alexander had to urgently complete his studies at the institute as an external student, which he also successfully coped with.

Alexander Sokurov at work

As a result, a very talented work “The Lonely Voice of a Man” was created, which as a result received several honorary awards, but was not accepted by the leadership of the educational institution and there were problems with crediting for the thesis.

It even got to the point that this picture was to be destroyed, but Sokurov and Arabov, as two faithful comrades, hacked into the archive and were able to save the film.

It was at this moment, when Sokurov could break down and give up when he saw this incredible machine that was ready to wash everything and everything, that Andrei Tarkovsky himself provided moral and professional assistance, who highly appreciated the work of the young talent.

Alexander Sokurov and Boris Yeltsin

Alexander Sokurov and his personal life always stood aside, he could not find a wife, have children, as he constantly worked. Various trips around the world, work with film projects and many other areas of his work prevented him from achieving the goal that he always dreamed of. Today, you can get more detailed information about his life on various biographical sites.

Finding your place

With the search for a place under the sun, Sokurov began to have problems. It is assumed that it was precisely after negative opinions about him at the institute for suspicions of dislike for the Soviet Union that he was created unbearable working conditions at Mosfilm. Only the recommendation of Andrei Tarkovsky helped Alexander to take a place in the Lenfilm film studio, where he began to shoot really good, high-quality feature films. In addition, there was time and energy left to shoot high-quality documentary films.

Alexander Sokurov on the set of the film "La Francophonie"

Alexander Sokurov did not have a wife and children, as well as a personal life, all this created certain difficulties. Information about his relationships with the wives of other celebrities has repeatedly appeared in the media, but all the facts have been refuted. Thus, he still remains an enviable bachelor.

Everything was far from being as simple as, perhaps, we would like. Already his first works cause stormy indignation on the part of the party organs. In addition, Sokurov begins to suspect that they want to get rid of him quite thoroughly, sending him "to a camp near Syktyvkar." For a very long time, Sokurov was tested for strength.

Frame from the movie "Faust"

Later, Alexander will say that the move was stopped because of his love for the Russian and the Hermitage - two things that he could not bear to lose.

Air of freedom

In the late 1980s, the open prison in which Sokurov ended up ends. Now his films are being released, they gather full houses and amaze with magnificent achievements and level. The world discovers Sokurov, and he finally feels that he has been heard.

At the turn of the epochs, Sokurov begins to shoot several films a year and gives out all the ideas, all the ideas, everything that has been sore in recent years. Pictures are interesting, non-standard, sensual. It is during this period that it becomes obvious that Sokurov is not drawn to someone, but creates his own unique style that comes from within.

Alexander Sokurov received the "Golden Lion" in Germany for the film "Faust"

In 1995, world recognition was finally secured - Sokurov was named one of the 100 best world directors who ever lived.

In fact, only a few achieve such recognition, and for a person whom the state machine has been trying to break for decades in a row, this is a real achievement.

Now Sokurov becomes an honored guest of any world film festival, now he is among the judges, his opinion is listened to, they are guided by him, a lot of attention is paid to him. Out of 43 nominations at various film festivals, he received 26 prizes.

public position

As a person, Sokurov is very well characterized not only by his cinema, unique style and ability not to give up, but also by his social position. He was one of the first who, back in 2008, felt that a conflict between Russia and Ukraine was possible.

Great director and screenwriter Alexander Sokurov

He was one of those who first realized that politicians and activists in Russia continue to provoke, continue to distort the facts and turn peoples against each other. It was always striking that Alexander Sokurov did not tolerate the excessive role of the state in human life under the Soviet Union, and does not tolerate it in the Russian Federation either.

This makes him a real director who is not in a vacuum, Alexander does not say that we are separate, and he is separate, but who strives to ensure that in this world, in every detail, there really is a balance.

Future plans

Alexander with great pleasure continues to say that he is always ready to continue working, strive for more and, of course, be fully responsible for what has been done. Indeed, this is exactly the person who is completely devoted to work. We see that Sokurov is capable of much.

In his free time from filming, Alexander Sokurov visits the Louvre in France

Despite the fact that the modern world of cinema is full of releases, because it has become easy to shoot, no one can feel the spirit of the times so subtly, no one can so easily return to the past, look into the future and teach us in the present. This is a great director and a living heritage of an entire era, this man and his work belong to the whole world.

For Alexander Sokurov himself, personal life, family, wife, children have always stood in the background. Of course, he wants to find exactly the one with whom he can spend the rest of his days.

Alexander Sokurov and Vladimir Putin

Every actor who, for some reason, could not get a loved one or even children, is trying to change his life. Maybe soon there will be completely new news and information about Sokurov.

KP film reviewer Stas Tyrkin talks to an outstanding Russian director at the Locarno festival.

I have been dealing with the fate of my students for seven years already, I love them very much, but this is too much for the life of an individual person. In seven years I have made only two films, - Sokurov shakes his head. Like a real Russian artist, he will always find something to reproach himself for. - This is my big mistake - that I have decisively reduced my professional stress and do not shoot anything myself. We had 12 people in the workshop, and everyone needs to be dealt with. We didn't talk much about 'art' with them, just engaged in the formation of skills. And the tasks were all on the proportionality of consciousness. On the course it was forbidden to shoot about aggression, about war, something like that with daggers, with all kinds of saber-toothed horsemen. The study papers were about how a daughter loves her mother, how a son loves his father or sister. Only about spiritual relationships between people.

There is nothing more difficult than this in cinema.

Yes, this is the hardest part. Because we in Russia do not know anything about the Caucasus, except for the bad. We do not know how the Kabardian, Chechen, Ossetian family lives. We know nothing about the people next to whom we have been living together for centuries. I asked my students to show who they are, I asked them to be critical of their people: understand, dig, take an example from the Russians. Who else, if not Russian writers, were able to analyze the vices of a Russian person. I am surprised that I liked all 12 theses. I myself did not expect such a result. Now four of my students have either finished or are preparing to finish feature films.

Before the works of your students, we knew nothing about the city of Nalchik, and now we have discovered not just films, but some whole picture of the world that we have never seen before. At the same time, the same Kantemir Balagov says that he is not a nugget at all, he calls himself a “vegetable” - but now you came to Nalchik and raised a young director of European level from a “vegetable” there. If you came to another city, would the results be the same?

Not necessary. I do not really believe that Russian young people will come to me to study. I naively believed that in the Caucasus there is some kind of initial respect for a person of a different age, for the status of a teacher, and so on. Before Nalchik, I had experience teaching classes in Poland, at Andrzej Wajda's film school, and a little bit in Japan, but I could not imagine that I would take a course in Russia. I agreed after the rector of the university Barasbi Karamurzov and Albert Saralp, the representative of Kabardino-Balkaria in St. Petersburg, answered “yes” to all my conditions. This did not concern wages, it was not even discussed - all employees of higher education in the Transcaucasus receive a pittance. It concerned the creation of infrastructure. It was difficult, of course. Because the initial base of the applicants was zero. At the entrance exams, I asked who Eisenstein was - no one knew this, except for one guy who was 36 years old ... Although teachers in Moscow and St. Petersburg say that the level of applicants there is almost the same. But in the North Caucasus there is no philharmonic activity at all, no serious theaters, no art galleries. Signs, shops, restaurants - yes, but everything else is not.

- And is it important? In Italy, culture is at every turn, and now there is almost no cinema either.

Let me recruit a group of students in Italy - I am sure that we will get ten of the best directors in the world. You just need to carefully understand who is learning from you, to support his specific abilities in each, not to demand universalism and be cruel, persistent.

- Did this pedagogical experience give you something?

No. And a lot of disappointments. in the national character. I understand that there is no tradition inside anymore. Although we were constantly convinced that this is not the case in the Caucasus region. I haven't seen it yet. I did not see upbringing within the family, with rare exceptions. I was amazed that there is no skill to work hard. The fact that there are almost no libraries in the houses. Parents were confused by the level of the tasks that were set for their children. I met with the parents of all who entered me every year! He told each of them what was happening to their daughter or son.

How did you react to the scene in "Closeness", which angered the jury at the Cannes Film Festival - with the showing of genuine footage of the execution of Russian soldiers?

This scene is longer. We agreed that it would be shorter. I had a big fight with Cantemir to drastically cut the film. Even now it is insufficiently compressed and compacted. In general, in this film, many professional tasks are not fulfilled. Cantemir has an inner self-importance that did not allow him to do this. I hope he gets over it gradually. But I warned him that this film would have a “ringing” due to the Jewish material. If a Russian family had left Nalchik in the 1990s, no one would have paid attention to this film. I generally don't like films on the Jewish theme, because I don't know films where the authors treat this topic honestly, seriously. Everything I've seen, including films by big directors, is the use of nightmarish tragedy.

I rate "Tesnota" a solid "four". I, as artistic director, had complete authority to do whatever I felt was right in completing the film. But I never use this power. My task is to say what I think, to show how it can be done professionally. But "Closeness" was ruined by the pride of its author. Now everything will depend on what he shoots next. In general, I am very calm about my first works and I think that my first work was also overestimated, it has a lot of shortcomings - for objective reasons. It takes me 40 seconds to figure out what the problem is with any painting, because I've been through it myself, I make a lot of mistakes myself. Besides, perhaps, Bergman, Fellini, Muratova or Khamdamov, I don't know any other names that can create great works in cinema. Only they had a chance to give birth in the cinema that we could put on the shelf next to the great literary works - Thomas Mann, for example.

Certainly. I just forced them to read. I wanted to show that the first directors were writers. How they storyboarded the scenes, how they built the aesthetics, how they knew how not to finish everything. Now every second director seeks to chew everything, to finish it. Such literalness arises that obscene language sounds even from the lips of women, which is somehow not good in Russian culture.

- As far as I know, you never needed a mate in the cinema.

Absolutely not needed. Despite the fact that I have been in situations where people died, were on the verge of life and death, I heard how they talk to each other. The use of swear words by Russian women (and now every second one speaks this language) speaks of the degradation of the masculine principle in society. Math is only a masculine language, a purely masculine way of communicating. That is how he should remain.

- But after all, the director must reflect what happens in life - including with women.

If he considers it necessary, if it suddenly became part of his task (it was not included before), then God will be his judge. Of course, each director must decide for himself. I believe that everything that exists in public should have its own strict task, everything should have its own measure of responsibility. If we are introducing obscene language in the theater and cinema, then please wait until your son or daughter sends you to a known address. And they won't even understand why it's bad.

- And if you shoot a drama from the thick of people's life?

So I filmed - and in the war, and filmed a soldier, and filmed a sailor's environment, and everything. And neither I nor those who filmed with me had the slightest need, so to speak - even in combat conditions.

- Now that you have already done a lot for your guys, are you going to return to the cinema?

There is an idea that is slowly starting to come to life. This is a story of the period of 1935-45, with a film language that is very difficult for me, I have not yet worked in such a language. Both editing and dramaturgy will be absolutely not typical for me. I can’t say anything more, I’m very afraid to share not fully formulated ideas.

- Is this Russian history?

European history. There will be one character from the Soviet Union, all other characters are Europeans. There will be no Russian money in the film either. I have practically no spectator in Russia. In the movies, what I do is not shown. On television, there is a ban on showing my films - both fiction and documentaries. Including "Faust" and "Russian Ark". Even Granin's Blockade Book is not allowed to be shown. I have almost no chance at home now. Although I am not at all an export or import person, I am a Russian person. I was educated in my homeland, I did not master the profession with the help of European film schools, I learned everything myself.

- You now comment on some social events to a greater extent than before.

Because I am worried about what is happening in the country. I was a witness when Rostropovich and Vishnevskaya, Solzhenitsyn, dissidents, our outstanding people were slandered, I remember all this. I did nothing in their defense, I could not even really comprehend it. It was then the reward of my life that one day a call came from Alexander Isaevich, a call from Rostropovich. I didn’t understand at all why this was for me, with my fault in front of them - how can it be that they call me, offer a meeting? I do not perceive today's social situation as a tragedy, I perceive it as a misfortune. But I think that I have no significance for the public life of the country. At the Nika award ceremony, I said something that I could not help but say. I had no other opportunity to speak. I have only one passport. I have no savings, no dacha, I am not protected in the same way as all my other compatriots. And when I see how the riot police behave with girls at rallies, I boil. I couldn't keep silent then.

- What will happen to Matilda, in your opinion?

Everything will be okay. The film will be shown, and the situation around it shows only one thing: the number of sick people is multiplying. And also about the fact that absolutely no one guarantees the operation of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The forces that could guarantee it are running out. And the most unpleasant thing that can happen is the beginning of work on changing it ... The saddest thing for me is that I can do nothing to alleviate the situation in the country. Although I understand what needs to be changed, it is so simple and obvious that even I can see it, not being a professional in politics or political economy.

How do you feel about new technologies? Would you like to shoot a movie in the "virtual reality" format using 360-degree space?

These are all toys. Just like all those 3D and tricks with sound. For me personally, this technique reveals little. It's like trying to destroy a stage in a theater. And I really don’t like it when an actor jumps off the stage and starts playing next to you, grabbing your hands, your ears. Because there is a world of conventionality, which is very important for a person. In general, visual creativity is a weapon that can inflict deep, non-healing wounds on a person. And this is much more dangerous than an ideological war and environmental problems. You can see for yourself how with the help of television, narrowly and sharply focused, you can control millions of people. And when you introduce a “virtual reality” tool everywhere, then there will be no hope at all. It's very easy to kill a person, and in the movies they show us a million different ways. American directors with high cheekbones are especially able to do this - they will show you how a person screams, suffers, and explain that it is not scary to kill a person. We live in conditions of uncontrolled progress. Not progress, but chaos. Steve Jobs led us to places he didn't know himself. We have not been in this future, no one has returned from there. Here Leo Tolstoy went to war in his novel, returned to his contemporary readers and told them what he saw there. But Tolstoy is not here now, and there is no one to go into the future or the past. So we are left with chaos.

In June, within the framework of the Open Lecture project, the Russian director Alexander Sokurov, whose name is included in the list of the world's 100 best directors, arrives in Israel. Over a long career as a director, Sokurov made more than forty feature and documentary films. His most famous works are the tetralogy based on scenarios by Yuri Arabov "Moloch", "Taurus", "Sun" and "Faust".

Sokurov's lecture in Tel Aviv will show the director's latest work, the French feature film "La Francophonie". In the center of the plot is the Louvre during the occupation of France by the Nazis.

Alexander Nikolaevich, in the film "La Francophonie" one of the characters must make a choice - to throw overboard boxes with art objects or keep them on the ship, risking drowning. At the same time, one of the thoughts that the film suggests is the idea that culture is exactly what keeps us afloat. How do you solve this dilemma for yourself?

You have complicated the question that is asked in the film. There, a very specific person must make a choice for which each of us must be ready. He must decide what is more valuable - human life or material objects. For me, the answer is unambiguous - there is nothing more valuable than human life.

While watching "La Francophonie" it is impossible not to remember the scandalous poll of "Rain". And how do you answer for yourself the question of whether it was necessary to surrender Leningrad in order to save hundreds of thousands of lives?

The fact is that the question is not entirely correct, because I do not believe that the surrender of Leningrad would really save people. I think that it was such a special situation when the surrender of the city would save the city itself, the buildings, but not the people. I know that Astafiev had a different opinion, and I respect him as a writer and front-line soldier, but I don’t believe in it myself.

At the same time, I strongly believe that such a question is not only legitimate, but also very important, and that we need to ask questions about our past and about the war, and we need to know as much as possible about this.

You have said in several interviews that you consider religion to be one of the biggest evils in society. Did you mean any specific aspects of religion?

The church, if it is not separated from the state, always takes the side of the state, and not the side of the parishioners. And religion in this case always has its own, not spiritual, but material interests. This is very clearly seen in the Orthodox Church in Russia, which often opposes itself to the Muslim part of the population.

States and cultures are, by their nature, rather neutral, open concepts. And religious interest is always hidden. And it is religious contexts that tend to give rise to the most serious conflicts. Remember history and how often the political functioning of the church led to terrible tragedies.

The Bolsheviks did absolutely the right thing by separating the church from the state. They knew that the people for a long time watched the combination of the interests of the church and Nicholas Russia. The Holy Synod has always been one of the departments of state power and, together with the emperor, brought Russia to the state in which it found itself in 1917. The priests blessed the Russian army to fight on the fronts of the First World War, which was absolutely unnecessary for Russia.

Returning to "La Francophonie" - looking at the portraits of old masters, you ask the question in the film "How is Islam without faces"? Why do you attach importance to this?

It is through the development of fine arts that we are able to comprehend our culture and national characteristics. Without portraits, we do not know much about our ancestors - about their character and emotions. If there is no portraiture, there is no knowledge of psychology. We understand a lot about ourselves, guessing something in the portraits of our ancestors.

And I wonder why in the Muslim world there is no desire to fix, to save face? There is something in Iranian art, but almost in an iconic form, when, looking at the portraits of shahs, it is very difficult to understand their psychology. And it is important for us to understand the psychology of the character.

Look, even now we know almost nothing about how Muslim families live. We in Russia live with Muslims in the same state, but we know nothing about how they live in the Caucasus, in Chechnya, where, in my opinion, terrible things happen.

They do not open up to us, they live in a closed world. There are probably reasons for this, but they have never been explained to me. They talk to me about tradition, but the tradition would be different if they had a need for contact and exchange of artistic, psychological and other life. However, they do not have this need, and we impose our own, European world and style on them. Because we are arranged in such a way that we cannot help talking about ourselves. Remember how much Dostoevsky told about the Russian people and Orthodoxy in his time. Yes, he alone is enough to turn the whole idea of ​​​​Russia and look at it not only with delight, but also with contempt. Are there writers in the Muslim world who tell the same sincere story about the inner state of a Muslim?

You, living in Israel, should know the answers to these questions much better and know the Muslims.

In Israel, inevitably, too much is considered in the context of the conflict.

It seems to me that you have a conflict from the fact that you are both very similar and very different. You have one land, one space, one passion. But one people is very civilized and organized, and the second one lives as if in a different time. And what common interests can two different civilizations have? Just live at a distance.

I looked around the country, met with young directors. I watched films in Iran that made a huge impression on me - very high-quality works of young people. Movies in Iran are produced twice as much as in modern Russia, although Russia is much larger in scale.

Why? Is it a matter of funding or needs?

It's a matter of people's energy. Energetic young people live there, who are ready to make films on any conditions, who are interested in the life of their people and who quite calmly get along with very difficult censorship conditions, and create social, serious works, with excellent acting work and with excellent artistic and civic balance.

I was amazed because I did not think that I would see so many enlightened young people who have absolutely no aggressive attitude, who know English very well and have watched all my films, unlike Russian students.

In general, the mood in the country did not seem to me as simple and unambiguous as it is covered in the press.

Not so aggressive, you mean?

Yes, I spoke with public figures and young filmmakers, I admired the mosques, which, against the background of Orthodox churches drowning in gold, amaze with their modesty.

The trip to Iran prompted me to think a lot about the development and strength of the Muslim world - a lot of difficult reflections.

Serious attention must be paid to this world. He is energetic, and is no longer ready to remain within his space. We must understand that it will cross borders and expand, it will be closer and closer to us. The Old World dealt so many blows to the Muslim world that only the Crusades can compare with it. We live in a world of dehumanized politicians who understand that one should not touch other people's humanitarian values. We must learn to live at a distance. You can't run into an anthill with a tractor, because it's a whole civilization. You can't send in troops, you can't bomb a country with a different way of life, in general you can't solve any problems of hostel life on earth with the help of weapons - with the exception of self-defense, of course. I believe that everything that has been done in this regard since approximately 2004-2005 is a crime of European and American civilizations. These crimes have led to such complications that will cost terrible compromises for Germany, France, the Scandinavian countries, the British.

Are you talking about value trade-offs?

Exactly. European civilization is no longer able to protect Christian values ​​because it has itself violated the respectful distance.

And the current situation in Europe...

It is a consequence of the dehumanization of the generation of politicians that came to power - American and European.

What place does Russia occupy in this process?

Russia is not responsible for this, because, no matter what claims I have against Putin, he did not make, oddly enough, almost a single mistake in resolving issues in the Middle East and North Africa. When the US and Europe were expanding in the Middle East, Russia said that it did not agree with this.

Including in Syria?

I don't consider this a mistake. I remember how a few years ago Putin warned that the Syrian problem should be solved carefully, but he was not listened to, and this whole story began. Putin said that the Syrian problem should be dealt with together, and not lead it to a dead end. And what the West is doing is civilizational arrogance, for which we will be paying for a long time to come.

You said that very few films are made in Russia, and also that Russian students, unlike Iranian ones, do not know your work well. How do you explain it?

I do not share interests and tastes with most of my compatriots, but I have no pretensions to be a national director and express national interests.

To find three or four directors, Russia needs to produce 100 debutant films a year. This requires government assistance, and all government money goes to large commercial projects. I suggested to my film directors of the same age that they stop their cinematographic activities for at least a year and give all the funds allocated by the state to young directors. I didn't get a response. And the point here is not in Putin, but in the shamelessness of people and mossy minds.

However, I do not consider this situation hopeless. As long as there is youth, there is a fireproof decision to do something. That's when all the young people get up and leave Russia, no one will demand anything and it will be possible to do nothing. In the meantime, this has not happened, you need to invest in enlightenment and education. Unfortunately, filmmakers around the world are the least educated cultural figures. And after all, a person who will then treat what he has created to hundreds of thousands of spectators should have a moral right to do this, which, first of all, gives a level of enlightenment - intellectual and ethical.

Talking with the director of the tetralogy, I would like to ask a hackneyed question about what is the role of the individual in history. Are personalities the main driving force or just appear at a convenient moment on fertile ground?

The role of the individual is, without any doubt, secondary. The individual leads the masses, but the masses must want it.

Why didn't you start making a film about Stalin?

I did not sign up for the biographers of the Soviet system, and a film about Lenin is quite enough. Lenin was Stalin's teacher, and that's what kind of student he turned out to be. You need to understand the teacher, and think about the rest yourself. Stalin and all the other students of Lenin took the main thing that he had - expansion and aggression. After all, Lenin, unlike Stalin, was a good economist. Those who read his "The Development of Capitalism in Russia" could say that he studied Russia of that period of the formation of capitalism quite well and was able to answer many questions. But this was not enough for him, and he decided to engage in state construction. And his students, step by step, investigators of all his principles, but were not as villainously gifted as he was.

When I watched "Faust", I had the feeling that this film is basically about the fact that there is no bottom.

Yes, you understood correctly. Man, unlike the devil, has no bottom. The devil has it, he is afraid of something, he has boundaries. But there are no borders of fanaberia, male arrogance and weaknesses. Men are very weak, especially military men. Weak, wounded, capricious, hysterical. As soon as a man takes up arms, he becomes hysterical. By the way, do not forget that my film is not an adaptation of Goethe, but the fourth and final part of the tetralogy.

When we are warned, we are stronger. We must know how dangerous people are. And remember that they are not punished for their actions. We can say whatever we want about God's punishment, but no one has yet returned from heaven with cut off hands and traces of a belt on the body. We don't know what awaits us. And the impunity of human behavior is very important and is a warning. After all, as soon as we released Nazism into the world, it can no longer be destroyed. He will run from us around the world like a mad dog. And even if we put him to sleep, by that time he will already have time to bite millions of other dogs and people. Therefore, we will now forever persecute Nazism. It's good that for some time Israeli intelligence hunted the Nazis. This is the only case where I justify reprisal without trial. But Nazism keeps sticking its head out here and there. And these are the people who were bitten by the Hitlers and the Goebbels. No need to generate, no need to release - this is what "Faust" and the whole tetralogy are about. After all, look at them. How unhappy, doubting, poor they all are. And think about why they sat on your scruff. Why did this notorious Adolf sit on the scruff of the nation that gave birth to gigantic art? Why do his gnomes continue to sit around our necks?

Why?

I won't tell you this! You must be thinking about something! I have told everything that I know in my films. And I can't add anything to what's already on the screen.


On earth, the whole human race
Honors one sacred idol,
He reigns over the entire universe,
That idol is a golden calf!

In tenderness of the heart
Glorifying the idol
People of different castes and countries
Dancing in an endless circle
Surrounding the pedestal
Surrounding the pedestal!

Satan rules the ball there
There rules the ball!
Satan rules the ball there
There rules the ball!
But there can be no evil spirit without a vicegerent on earth.

Joshua Trachtenberg in The Devil and the Jews writes: “In the system of traditional folk culture, the attitude towards representatives of other peoples is largely determined by the concept of ethnocentrism. The main role here is played by the instinctive denial of the alien, as incomprehensible (unacceptable, sinful); every representative of a different ethnic group is associated with the concept of a dangerous, otherworldly... Aliens (gentiles) have no soul and therefore they are classified as "non-humans", acting as possible representatives of evil spirits.

In Goethe, the evil spirit acts as a dog or a student. The director Alexander Sokurov has a loan shark and, of course. a Jew in an excellent performance by a Jew, Anton Adosinsky. The devil in Sokurov's film, to whom Dr. Faust must sell his soul, has nothing in the causal place, but there is a ponytail at the back.

I read from the same Trachtenberg: “Physical features that are imperceptible at first glance can also testify to the inhuman nature of“ aliens ... So, in Podlessia it was believed that Jews have small ponytails.

Apparently, this is Podlesie, the birthplace of A. Sokurov. Mikhail Gorelik writes wonderfully about this: “All this vivisection - farewell to the Christian world, went out and immediately fell into the arms of a Jewish usurer, a reduced image of Mephistopheles. Who should be a Jew in medieval myth? Well, of course, a moneylender, who else. Cursed Jew, venerable Solomon. The great medieval myth about the Jew, where the myth itself and Sokurov's reflection are inseparable. The Jew is disgusting, physically disgusting, shameless, without a penis, that is, a completely smooth place, but with a tail resembling a penis.

What happens next is strange, but natural. Having confessed to evil spirits, the director himself is forced to sell his soul in parts and in bulk to the devil of Judeophobia. The usual story with a talented person in Russia. However, Faust himself was talented, but he waved an agreement with Satan.