What links you to Ukraine?
“I grew up in Kyiv and lived here for 27 years. I am linked to this city through those 27 years.”
Tell please, if it’s no secret, why haven’t you found funding in Russia. Did the script scare them away?
“The script did not scare away anybody. Actually the problem was not about this. To find funding for a debut work is a priori difficult; even if the debutant has certain achievements in the field of documentary cinema, this does not count anyway. The degree of responsibility is high, because budgets are incommensurate. A budget of a live-action film is at least ten times higher. And there’s no place for experiments in this situation. A debut is always a risk.”
Why did you keep to the Russian coloring? These kinds of stories are taking place all over the former USSR.
“I shoot films about things I know well. For the past 15 years I have been shooting documentaries in Russian provinces, so I know this space well. Yes, similar stories, in one way or another, are taking place all over the territory of the former USSR. But I know well the details of the place where I shot the film better. The traveling experience helps with precision in details.”
To what extent was it difficult for you to move from non-live-action movies to live-action? Many documentary directors fail to do the same.
“This is a very individual thing, besides, I am a live-action director by training. Thus I was ready for this to some extent. Of course, when shooting a live-action movie, you face a different degree of complexity in organizing the production process. But there’s nothing special about this either. It is very important to gather a good team of professionals, and we’ve managed to do so.”
What was the actors’ tasks?
“Nothing special. To be natural.”
In your opinion, what is the result? A short story, a tale, or a fairy-tale?
“Above all, this is a film. The rest is a matter of interpretation.”
What do you reply to those who accuse you of Russophobia, and dislike your gory scenes?
“‘Loving your homeland is a wonderful thing, but there’s something better, it’s loving the truth. Love for homeland produces heroes, whereas love to the truth produces men of wisdom and benefactors of humankind. Love for homeland divides people, nourishes national hatred and in the course of time, it makes the earth go into mourning; love for the truth spreads the light of knowledge, creates spiritual delight, and brings people nearer to the divine.’ (Pyotr Chaadaev, Apologia of a Madman). Read and contemplate.”
Anyway, why have you produced such a dismal story?
“Why is our story dismal, on the whole? Look around yourself. Look into the future. This is a good question. There is a purpose to think about it. If you don’t think, the story won’t become more cheerful.”
You are working with a cameraman and an actor who took part in production of Romania’s breakthrough film 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days. Do you think that you may also have created a “new Romanian film,” (not in terms of copying, but in terms of the spirit), with an accent on sociality, acute dramatic situations, and explosive tempers?
“No, I don’t think so. The things you have just listed are typical of many movies, not only Romanian. Both dramatic situations and explosive characters are present in Japanese, Spanish, American and English films. The Finnish cinema might be calmer in terms of characters’ temper. I had invited Oleg Mutu to shoot the movie, because Oleg is a wonderful cameraman, and in my opinion the film 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days was shot faultlessly. I had invited Vlad Ivanov to play in my movie, because Vlad is a wonderful actor. In a sense, this is quite a different film, which belongs to an absolutely different cinematographic tradition and culture.”
To what extent is society topical for contemporary cinema?
“If to put your question in other words, you have asked me, how interesting is it for people to watch films about their contemporary problems and things that worry them? This is an interesting question. You ought to ask the audience. Whether people care about their own lives, how seriously or thoughtlessly they treat it depends on the answer to this question.”
