Alik Sakharov is an American cameraman and director. Known for his participation in the work on the popular TV series "The Sopranos", "Game of Thrones", "House of Cards". ASC Award nominee, The OFTA Award. Sakharov is an Emmy award winner.
The future famous director was born in sunny Tashkent in 1959, on May 17. The family left the city in 1966, after a terrible earthquake. The Sakharovs moved to Moscow. To prevent an active and inquisitive boy from wandering aimlessly through the streets, the parents enrolled their son in a photo circle. The House of Culture, where the classes took place, turned out to be the closest to the house.
Searching for a vocation
On his fifteenth birthday, Alik received a brand-new "Cinema-lover" camera as a present. In addition to the gift, he learned that he had become an older brother. With the help of the camera, Sakharov began to shoot amateur videos.
At seventeen, the young man saw for the first time Tarkovsky's work "The Mirror". The film made such a strong impression on him that he decided to seriously engage in film activities. Forever Alik decided that the Mirror would become the most important film for him. The work had a decisive influence on the formation of the future director's handwriting, on the artistic taste and improvement of creativity.
For a very long time Sakharov could not find a profession to his liking. Alik rushed about in search of a life purpose.
He attended preparatory courses at Moscow State University, was going to enter the philological course. The young man tried to get an education at a theater university. Alik decided to choose the profession of a watchmaker. He tried to master the basics of fine craft and even got a job in a workshop.
At the same time, he continued to write stories and poems for himself. The young writer did not send all the works anywhere. In 1981, the Sakharov family moved to the United States.
Self-taught in America, he shot for the first time in his biography, made documentary chronicles, calling the first film "The Russian Touch". The picture told about the further destinies of people who emigrated from the USSR to the United States.
Beginning in 1986, Alik started working at one of the film studios in the famous Big Apple city as a videographer and illuminator. During his work, he received colossal experience in creating films.
Work and recognition
Simultaneously, the visionary began to fulfill orders for "Nabisco" and "IBM".
He has filmed commercials and music videos. During this period, the filmmaker himself decided to move into the category of feature films. However, after the first invitation to participate in the filming of the series, others followed.
In 1991, Alik worked as a director of photography on a short film for the popular Hollywood screenwriter and director John Raffo entitled Big and Mean.
A year later, Sakharov's new project, a short film "Pausa", was released. It was positioned as a visual meditation dedicated to the revered director Andrei Tarkovsky. Daniil Damutsky, Gordon Willis and Sergei Urusevsky are among the masterly masters of the camera.
They had a significant impact on the formation of the author's manner of Sakharov. In 1997, in a mutually beneficial cooperation with HBO, Sakharov and the TV channel began working together as part of the large corporation Time Warner.
Playwright, screenwriter and producer David Chase offered Alik to participate in the creation of the Sopranos series. The director was skeptical about the news about the film planned for the TV show. He was prejudiced at the very thought of working in it.
However, Chase's persuasion had to yield. The director read the script. The announcement of the start of filming did not cause delight among the audience. In their opinion, after "Once Upon a Time in America" and "The Godfather" it is no longer possible to surprise with anything in the genre of stories from the life of gangsters and mafia.
It turned out that it is very possible. The serious gloom of the picture was diluted with humor of a very dark shade. And the main mafioso looked more like a flatmate than a bandit.
And his problems are surprisingly similar to those that bother ordinary Americans every day. Unsurprisingly, the series has won 45 prizes and 110 nominations across all categories.
Best work
The director liked the idea. He refined the project so that each episode was as close to a full-length film as possible. After a successful implementation, the filmmaker embarked on other HBO projects. Alik contributed to the creation of Dexter, Rome, Sex and the City, Game of Thrones.
Alik, who became famous as the best cameraman, practically demanded the work of a director in several episodes of the thundering "Game of Thrones". The work in the big cinema did not attract the figure who had found his place anymore. He made a significant contribution to raising the level of television series.
Since 2008, the native of the sunny southern city has acted in the director's incarnation. He participated in the creation of episodes of the most popular multi-part projects.
His authorship belongs to the series "That which is dead, cannot die", "Rise", "Laws of Gods and Men" and "Mockingbird" in "Game of Thrones". He became the creator of Wrong Step and Dress Code for Dexter.
In "Americans" Alik filmed the first episode, for "Marco Polo" he took part in work on five episodes, in "Black Sails" he did seven, and in "Underground Empire", "Chicago Firefighters" and "Chicago Police" he limited himself to two.
The list of jobs also includes the TV show Flesh and Bones. The master filmed the series "Law and Order", "Goliath", "House of Cards", "Gypsies" and an episode of the rating project "On the Other Side".
Alik was awarded an Emmy award for his outstanding abilities. He has been nominated for other prestigious awards.
