Alexander Sokurov is such a cultural figure whose name is always well known. He is known not only in his native Russia, but also abroad, where he makes many of his films. Almost no international film festival is complete without its presence as a participant or member of the jury. His path was long and thorny, and ultimately led to well-deserved success.
Biography
Alexander Nikolaevich was born in 1951 in the village of Podorvikha, but he did not spend so much time in the Irkutsk region. Already in childhood, he moved with his parents to Poland, where he went to primary school. He graduated in Turkmenistan, studying on the way to other cities and countries. Then he enters Gorky University, where he studies history. In parallel with his student life, the future director works on television and broadcasts his first programs. In 1974, two significant events took place in his life: he defends his diploma, and the documentary film “The Most Earthly Concerns”, with which Sokurov’s filmography began, appears on television screens. The following year, he enters the faculty of directing VGIK, where he makes great strides. However, due to a conflict with the administration, Alexander Sokurov, whose films were perceived as anti-Soviet, takes exams externally and ends his studies.
Early work
The first feature film, entitled "The Lonely Voice of a Man", which was supposed to become a graduation, was not allowed to be defended, but later it found a response in the hearts of critics and received several festival awards. During this period, Alexander Sokurov actively communicates with Andrei Tarkovsky, who helps him get a job at Lenfilm. This period was marked for him by a great upsurge in creative activity, and over the following years, the director made many feature films and documentaries, which received many awards at various film festivals. Even before the onset of the new century, Sokurov's filmography grew to gigantic proportions, and he himself was recognized as a master of his craft and was even included in the list of the best directors in the world.
Documentary film
The documentary genre has always been of most interest to the director. This is exactly where he started, and the number of such paintings has always exceeded the game. Historical education left its mark on the works of the author. He masterfully knows how to cover facts with the help of such an artistic composition, which is unique, worked out by him personally. More than 30 documentaries were presented to the world by Alexander Sokurov. Films about Petersburg occupy a special place among them. He shot a whole documentary entitled “Petersburg Elegy”, as well as “Leningrad Retrospective” and 3 paintings from the series “Petersburg Diary”, each of which is devoted to a different topic. The director’s work is closely connected with military and political motives, and his views were often criticized in Soviet times, so many of his works were born thanks to the attraction of foreign capital.
Fiction movie
The filmography of Sokurov is not limited to only one genre. During his long career, he did not shoot only comedies, which he did not like at all. The most successful paintings include Father and Son, Russian Ark, Alexandra, Mother and Son, which were highly praised by critics and received all kinds of awards. The famous tetralogy, which includes Moloch, Taurus, the Sun, and Faust, deserves special mention. All these films are united by common themes and motives that together add up to the complex theme of madness and its stages. As Sokurov himself says, the existence of each of them does not make sense without the rest. He shot them for a long 12 years, while constantly working on other projects.
Francophonie
It has been 4 years since Sokurov’s filmography was replenished with his joint work with Yankovsky entitled “We Need Happiness,” and the last documentary directed by Francophonie was shown at the Venice Festival. The Louvre under German occupation ”, which caused a stormy flurry of emotions and admiration. In Russia, the premiere took place in the framework of the international film festival "Message to Man." It was planned that he won’t get to the rental, but not so long ago there was information that the film would still be shown to domestic audiences. Its plot revolves around the world famous museum in wartime. He starred with the participation of France, Holland and Germany, and the actors in it, respectively, are involved European. When he appears on wide screens, even Alexander Sokurov himself cannot yet say. A photo with shots from the film is by far the only thing that admirers of the director’s creativity have.
Other activities
In addition to the director's chair, there are other areas where Alexander Sokurov succeeded over many years of creative wanderings, whose biography and films deserve far from a brief, but more ambitious and detailed description. His track record includes 4 theatrical productions, including Boris Godunov and Northern Gardens. He also led his own program about the movie "Sokurov Island" for 10 years. In Nalchik, in one of the creative universities, the Sokurov workshop was opened, and on the basis of Lenfilm, under his leadership, the studio of documentary and feature film "Beach" is working. The number of awards he received is not calculable because of their huge number. Currently, the director lives in St. Petersburg, where he also performs in a group of activists to protect the old part of the city. And his contribution to world cinema cannot be called otherwise than epoch-making.