During her not very long life, film director Larisa Shepitko created outstanding films, which after her death were recognized as masterpieces, received world recognition, and during her lifetime were severely criticized and prohibited
It is called a bright comet that flew across the "kinoskonosl" in the seventies of the last century. Now Larisa Shepitko in the opinion of the audience is on a par with such celebrities as Andrei Tarkovsky and Alexey German. At the time when she was shooting her pictures, there was no concept of "art house", however, it was in this genre that she worked: ordinary people may not understand her cinema, and intellectual people will see and understand a lot in it.
Childhood and youth
Larisa was born in 1938, in the Donetsk region, in the city of Artemovsk. Her mother, Efrosinya Tkach, was a teacher, her father did not live in the family, so it was not very easy to live off a teacher's salary. Larisa did not forgive her father's betrayal and believed that she did not have it. Throughout the war, the family lived in poverty in their town, and after the war, my mother moved her three children to Lviv.
In this city a fateful event happened: Larisa got to shoot the film "The Gadfly", which took place in Lviv. She could watch the artists all day, but she found the director's work more interesting than others. At that time, she fell in love with this profession forever.
Therefore, after school I went to enter VGIK, to the directing department. Mom wished her a happy journey and a speedy return - she was sure that her daughter would not enter. The commission looked with bewilderment at the young beauty who wanted to learn the "male profession". However, Larisa was firm in her decision, and, not agreeing to go to acting, she entered directing.
Director's career
Larisa has always had a strong character. While her teacher at VGIK was the famous Alexander Dovzhenko, she studied well. Still - to learn from the idol of millions of Soviet people, from the beacon of Soviet cinema! However, two years later, Dovzhenko died, and Larisa almost left the university because of a new teacher - Mikhail Chiaureli. However, later the passions subsided, and the young director continued her studies.
Larisa had a period in her life when she tried to act in films: as a student she appeared in an episode in Carnival Night, then played a small role in Poem about the Sea, and in 1960 she also starred in two films in episodes: Tavria "and" Ordinary history ".
However, this was not her occupation, and she said about the profession of an actor that it was "slave work", meaning that the actor only does what the director tells him, without being able to bring it into the character, and even more so into the plot that something of his own. Therefore, Larisa gave all her strength to the director's profession.
While still at VGIK, she shot two short films: "The Blind Cook" (1956) and "Living Water" (1957). These course projects became a kind of evidence of the birth of a new, extraordinary director - bright, with non-standard thinking. She didn’t want to make a “movie for everyone” because she had her own opinion on everything - sharp and truthful.
Larisa Shepitko's real directorial debut took place in 1963 - she shot the short film Heat, based on Aitmatov's story, at the Kirgizfilm film studio. The shooting took place in Kyrgyzstan, in a forty-degree heat, and everyone was surprised at the dedication and willpower of the novice director - Larisa worked fiercely and obsessively, not sparing herself.
The efforts were rewarded: the film "Heat" received an award from the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and an award from the 1st All-Union Film Festival in Leningrad.
In 1966, Shepitko shoots another film - the drama "Wings", which was warmly received by the audience, critics, and the director even took the picture to a show in Paris, where everyone admired the beauty of the Russian girl, recognizing her as the most beautiful woman in Europe. Larisa Efimovna communicated on equal terms with such masters of cinema as Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola.
In 1967, a black streak began in the life of a talented and recognized director: her film "Homeland of Electricity" did not pass censorship, and the cinema officials ordered to destroy the film. By a lucky coincidence, the film survived, the picture was restored and it took part in screenings at various festivals, but only 20 years after the ban.
Two years later, a new failure: the comedy "At the thirteenth in the morning" with the participation of such wonderful artists as Anatoly Papanov, Georgy Vitsin, Spartak Mishulin, Zinovy Gerdt did not make it to the screens. It was a big blow - it took time, and with it the desire to work.
However, Shepitko continued to make films on topical topics. An example of this is the painting You and Me (1971). Many of the problems of contemporaries were not raised, but the censors again cut out the most significant shots.
Finally, in the mid-70s, success came with the film "Ascent" based on the story of Vasil Bykov, the theme is betrayal. This film was called "A Date with Conscience." After this film, both the director and actors Anatoly Solonitsyn, Vladimir Gostyukhin and Boris Plotnikov became famous. However, if not for Pyotr Masherov, the first secretary of the CPSU in Belarus, this film could also have fallen on the shelf.
Later, the film was awarded the "Golden Bear" at the Berlin Film Festival, became the winner at the Venice Biennale. Largely thanks to this picture, Larisa Shepitko was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR.
Larisa Efimovna did not manage to shoot the last film "Farewell to Matera" based on the works of Valentin Rasputin - the film crew died in a car accident. The film was finished by Elem Klimov and premiered in 1981.
Personal life
There were two of them - talented directors and beautiful people: Elem Klimov and Larisa Shepitko, and they simply could not meet. Moreover, both studied at VGIK. They met, got married, and in 1963 their son Anton was born.
They always felt each other, and when the Volga, on which Larisa was traveling and the members of the film crew crashed into a truck, Elem saw exactly the same picture in a dream and woke up in horror. A few hours later he was informed about the death of his wife.
Larisa knew that she would die just like that - a year before this incident she was with Vanga, and she told her about it.
The son of two great directors Anton Klimov is a journalist. He goes to film festivals, where they show pictures of Larisa Shepitko, talks about his famous parents.
