The name of the director and screenwriter Alexander Sokurov is known all over the world. The People's Artist of Russia has shot about forty films. In the history of cinema, the Honored Art Worker left his mark forever.
Sokurov's film debut took place in the seventies. He shot the documentary "The car is gaining reliability."
The path to cinematography
The future director was born in 1951, on June 14, in a military family. He had to move often: Sasha began her studies in Poland, finished school in Turkmenistan.
From early childhood, the boy listened to literary radio broadcasts. He liked them very much. Then the first acquaintance with the direction took place.
In 1968, Alexander Nikolayevich went to get an education at the history department of Gorky University. The student became interested in television. He began work in the editorial office of art broadcasting. Then the young man became an assistant director. Sokurov began to release his own programs. They were followed by television films, sports programs, and live programs.
The aspiring television personality then tried many professions and mastered almost all genres. The only and most valuable teacher Sokurov calls Yuri Bespalov, the director of the Gorky edition of the artistic broadcasting. The student body ended in 1974.
Alexander Nikolaevich decided to enter VGIK. In 1975 he resumed his studies at the directing department. Sokurov studied in the creative workshop of Zguridi. There I got to know the future cameraman Sergei Yurizdsky and screenwriter Yuri Arabov. Everyone saw Sokurov's talent, his work was admired. The student received the prestigious Sergei Eisenstein Prize. The future director took his exams a year earlier, in 1979.
The diploma work was the short film "The Lonely Voice of a Man" based on Arabov's script. The action unfolds around the Red Army soldier Nikita Firsov who returned home after the civil war, who fell in love with the girl Lyuba. Subsequently, the picture has collected a lot of international awards.
Calling activities
Directing activity started at Lenfilm. The novice director also collaborated with the Leningrad documentary studio. The first works of Sokurov were not released for a very long time. After being shown in the eighties, they were highly acclaimed at international festivals.
In 1981, a tragic requiem film “Dmitry Shostakovich. Viola Sonata . The picture shows the story of the brilliant composer and the tragedy of the unacceptable artist.
For a decade, Alexander Nikolaevich produced films. At the same time, he began to work as novice directors at the Lenfilma film studio. Together with Japanese filmmakers, Sokurov made several documentaries commissioned by the Land of the Rising Sun television. In 1995, the name of the Russian director was included in the list of the 100 best directors in the world.
Alexander Nikolaevich became a celebrity. Retrospectives of his works are held to this day in different countries. Among the numerous awards of the master there is the prestigious FIPRESCI prize. Sokurov was also awarded the Vatican Prize. He was nominated forty times at the most prestigious competitions. Twenty-six nominations became victorious.
1994 saw the premiere of the existential drama Quiet Cossacks. The tape contains a kind of interpretation of the works of Russian prose writers of the century before last. The plot is based on Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. The director tried to restore the atmosphere shown for the book of the great Dostoevsky.
The whole life of the master is devoted to cinema. Alexander Nikolaevich did not have time to create a family. They tried to ascribe a lot of novels to him, but all the information was not confirmed. Even in the future, the biography does not plan to search for a future wife.
Life in creativity
Sokurov intends to engage in creativity, continuing his contribution to the improvement of his work. His work has completely become a favorite and most important thing. The director is given to him entirely. To create pictures that help the author to show true thoughts, he makes a lot of effort.
The famous director's views have not changed over time. He is able to transfer viewers to the past, help them feel happiness in the present, let them think about the future, regardless of life's blows. Everything else fades into the background. Although Alexander Nikolaevich does not deny that he dreams of finding true love.
In 2009, the documentary "Reading the book of siege" was shown.
Then work was completed on the fantasy-drama "Faust" based on the famous work of Goethe. She was awarded the Nika Prize in 2013.
One of the most notable works of Sokurov was the film "Francophonie". Filmed works in the genre of documentary films in 2015. Filming was carried out in the Netherlands, Germany and France. The film takes the viewer to the forties. The project shows the life of people from different times.
Drake, living in the present, crashes and fights for his life during an ocean storm. At the same moment, in 1940, the German general Meternich received an order to transport the Louvre collection from a temporary storage facility. The director of the museum, Jacques Jojard, is not going to interact with the general at first. But that manages to achieve the location of the intractable Frenchman.
The director took over the role of the narrator. In the continuation of the whole picture, the director addresses the audience with questions directly. He demonstrates the toughness of the positions of the Nazi invaders.
The picture was received very positively. She was presented at international film festivals in London and Toronto. Also, the tape was nominated for the "Golden Lion" award. The film was awarded the prize for the best Mediterranean film.
