Valeria Gai Germanika - film director, actress and TV presenter - was born in Moscow in 1984. The real full name of the actress is Valeria Igorevna Dudinskaya. An unusual pseudonym for her beloved granddaughter was invented by her grandmother, a passionate admirer of Raffaello Giovagnoli. Impressed by the Spartak novel, the elder Dudinskaya offered her granddaughter the name of Valery Gai and the name of Germanicus, which was enthusiastically accepted by the girl.
The first work in the cinema
After graduating from high school, Valeria entered the Internews courses, where she began to study film production under the guidance of the famous documentary director Marina Razbezhkina. Having received the qualification of a cameraman, Germanika began working at one of the semi-underground movie studios, where she, in her own words, worked as an cameraman, making pornographic films. The girl used her directorial abilities in 2005, creating a short film, lasting only 17 minutes, a movie called "Sisters". Another film, Girls, also filmed in 2005, has already taken 45 minutes of screen time.
The first films by Valeria Gai Germanika tell about the most ordinary girls living in the Moscow courtyard, who soon have to start an independent life. “Girls” was included in the program of the Kinotavr film festival, where the film was noted as the best short film. In addition, the film was shown at the 59th Cannes Film Festival. Valeria Gai Germanika, whose series have been the subject of discussion by a multimillion-dollar audience of Russian viewers, has already shown herself as a talented director.
Directorial debut
The next notable work of Valeria was the 2007 film entitled “Infanta's Birthday”, which also took part in the Kinotavr contest. The picture is about a group of young people who came up with their own special world. In 2008, Valeria Gai Germanika, whose biography already contained several bright pages, shot her next shocking film (this time full-length), which was called "Everyone will die, but I will stay." The film was a success, it was demonstrated in the framework of the "Golden Camera" competition of the Cannes Film Festival. The film did not receive the main prizes, but was awarded the “Special Mention”, awarded the diploma of the White Elephant Prize and the Nika Prize as the best full-length debut work. The film is built, like other paintings by Valeria Gai Germanicus, on the relationship of teenagers. In the center of the plot there are again three girls who are preoccupied with simple problems: how to get a drink, go to a disco and meet some interesting guy.
"School"
In 2008, Valeria Gai Germanika took part in the competition "Cinema without film", which showed films in digital format. The actress was a member of the jury, she did not submit her works to the competition. The following year, Valeria participated in the musical project of the group of rappers from St. Petersburg "Trash-Shapito Kach", which at that time was working on the creation of the album "Expensive!". In the same year, the First Channel of Russian television opened the project "School" - a series by Valeria Gai Germanicus, which tells about the life of high school students. The film, shown in January 2010, was ambiguously accepted by the public. He caused a lot of debate in society. At the same time, the director of the film Valeria Gai Germanika thanks to the "School" has become widely known.
"School" starred in school
The series consists of 69 episodes that were filmed in stages at a regular Moscow school number 945 on Orekhovoy Boulevard, Krasnogvardeiskaya metro station. The characters of the film are high school students, boys and girls of 14-16 years old, who live their everyday school life. The main characters of the series were played by young graduates of theatrical studios, VGIK and VTU named after Shchepkin. Filming was carried out in the complete absence of scenery, without the use of stationary cameras, all episodes were filmed with a portable camera "from the shoulder." There was no musical accompaniment, music sounded only if it was provided for by the script.
The "school" is permeated with all those youth problems that are the backdrop of the modern life of adolescents. Young actors practically played themselves, since most recently they all studied at the same school, lived the same cares, dreamed of good grades.
In the series "School" came two actresses who played in the movie "Everyone will die, but I will stay." This is Valentina Lukashchuk and Julia Alexandrova. Many other actors involved in the TV series "School", a year later will take part in another series of Guy Germanicus called "A Short Course in a Happy Life." Valeria somehow somehow organized a close-knit team of actors and actresses, which is able to play as many roles as needed, acting as a united, many-sided front.
"A short course of a happy life"
The whole of 2011 was for Valeria under the sign of a new series called "A Short Course in a Happy Life." Once again, there are many characters in the frame, each of whom has his own life, aspirations, aspirations, dreams. The script was written by Anna Kozlova, who repeatedly complained about the plot changes (sometimes radical) that Guy Germanika made right on the set. At the same time, Anna acknowledged that from the unceremonious intervention of the director, the scenes only improved. Characteristically, all actors involved in the series, without exception, welcomed the remarks during the filming. And the point was not that the scenario was weak, but simply creative Germanica found new, more interesting solutions. Lera herself also played in the series, she played the role of Fortune Teller.
Hakamada and Sobchak
The “Short Course in a Happy Life” was in 16 episodes, although Konstantin Ernst, Channel One Director General, who acted as the producer of the project, suggested 69 episodes (by analogy with the acclaimed “School”). Nevertheless, the series turned out to be much smaller due to a completely different specifics of what is happening on the screen. The series "A Short Course in a Happy Life" has something in common with the American version of Sex and the City, there are also four main characters, the plot is similar in some separate episodes. Four main roles in the Russian series were played by Svetlana Khodchenkova, Alisa Khazanova, Anna Slyu and Ksenia Gromova. In addition, to increase the popularity of the film, Valeria Guy Germanika invited several famous people to participate in the series. Irina Khakamada, Ksenia Sobchak, Lera Kudryavtseva, musician Roma Zver and other famous personalities responded to the offer to participate in the filming.
Reviews and Opinions
The series has a huge number of soundtracks, of a very different nature, from the lyric songs performed by Eva Polna to the shocking performances of Sergei Shnurov. There was a place for the Mendelssohn Wedding March. In total, there are 86 musical inserts, which is a kind of record. The opinions of the audience were divided. Some took the Short Course with enthusiasm, while others spoke extremely negatively. Of course, such a scatter of opinions - from enthusiastic reviews to complete rejection - is evidence of a certain artistic value of the production. As for the wider opportunity to get acquainted with the work of the director, now on the Internet you can watch all the films online Valeria Gai Germanicus.
Personal life
The personal life of the popular director Valeria Gai Germanika is not very diverse, she spends all her time on creative projects. And what is still happening outside the filming pavilions is covered in mystery and is under the stamp of secrecy. But one of the most important episodes in the personal life of Lera was impossible to hide. On March 13, 2008, the whole country learned that Guy Germanicus gave birth to a daughter, who was named with a rare name Octavia.