"Today's cinema may soon become elitist"

In the near future, a neural network will be able to create films, and director's films will become elitist. This opinion was expressed to Izvestia on the sidelines of the SPIEF by the head of the Ministry of Culture, Olga Lyubimova. Read about the future, present and past of cinematography, as well as why one should not be afraid of traditional values and what rural libraries have become interesting for.

"Common values are loyalty to traditions"

— This year's SPIEF theme is "Shared values are the foundation for growth in a multipolar world." What do you mean by "shared values"?

— Values are a conversation about what is dear and significant to us, what is the ideology and cultural policy of countries.

— But the culture and values in each country are different. And what is common?

— This is loyalty to the traditions that a particular country represents. I'll give you an example. We have now launched a large international institution, the Eurasian Film Academy (a platform for filmmakers from different countries to share their experiences — Ed.). There we also talk about common values.

This does not mean that all countries that are members of the academy should have Ten Commandments. This means that people representing national cinema are coming, they are anti-globalists in the best sense of the word. These people understand that every country has its own way and values, ideology and traditions, and a history that they keep and cherish. And values are resources, and values are the whole periodic table. We can also list many values, but they will all be extremely tangible. Intangible assets are always the traditions, history and culture of a country.

— We have seen how multiculturalism has developed in Europe. The consequences are deplorable.

— I am not a futurologist, but I can say that it is so interesting: in Europe, on the one hand, there is acceptance of everything and everything, and on the other hand, there is a ban on people thinking and feeling as they see fit. Art within the framework of the traditional values of the country they represent is simply irrelevant at international film festivals. Because there is a certain agenda for which the cinema is selected, the jury is selected.

The most annoying thing is when debutants, young directors, are already studying with an eye: "I'll make a debut about this, then the road to that film festival is open to me. If I make a movie about the reasonable, the kind, and the eternal, no one will need me, I'm a retrograde." It's good that we don't think so. We are fighting to ensure that different films are in demand and that people have the opportunity to come.

— For some reason, many perceive the phrase "traditional values" as a return to "House building". This is a very dangerous stereotype. How to break it?

— Traditional values include the concept of our childhood. These are certainly the values of the 20th century. They were traditional and did not raise any questions. These are the values of our unique country, multi-religious, multicultural, multinational, in which people treat each other with incredible respect.

When I meet with my partners in the Arab world, I talk about how children from Orthodox and Muslim families are friends in Russia, and how a physical education teacher should treat a fasting boy from both Orthodox and Muslim families with respect. It's exciting.

— Does the 21st century shape traditional values? You just said that we brought them out of the twentieth century.

— Will there be anything new inside this agenda, as it is now customary to say? I don't think it will change much. Because a loving family from the twentieth century is not much different from a loving family from the 19th century. Of course, the working conditions have changed, including in the house. A woman's work in the kitchen is becoming easier due to the number of buttons and the lack of the need to wash clothes in an ice hole. But if you put aside everyday issues and look at the relationships within the family, the relationships between neighbors and friends, then little has changed. When we read the great Russian literature of the 19th century, does anything seem old-fashioned, for example, in the relationship between a man and a woman? Unlikely.

"Engineers need actors"

— Today, the economy needs engineers, physicists, and chemists. Is there no professional jealousy?

— It does not occur. There is no dispute between physicists and lyricists. The theater needs all the workshops. You can't do without an engineering workshop.

— Do engineers need theater-goers?

— Yes, we see this in theater attendance. It's not like actors go to see actors. For example, there are always full halls in Kemerovo. People who work in factories and in difficult conditions come here. They come all right to drama theaters, all right to youth theaters, but even to opera and ballet theaters. The man left the factory, changed his clothes and went to the theater with his wife.

— But, from the point of view of demand in the economy, the demand for engineers is higher. Will we lose the part that concerns your field?

— There is a whole trend in art related to industrial development, and it is considered very fashionable. But we have an incredibly high number of applicants to creative universities. Young people dream of being artists.

— Has the competition for admission to universities for creative specialties increased this year?

— The competition is consistently very high. There are universities with 50, 60, 80 people per place. Therefore, we cannot say that there are not enough people who want to enroll in theater universities.

— Are there enough people to implement the cultural initiatives and programs that have now been formed?

— As in any industry, we have in-demand positions. Of course, they are more related to technical work. We need sound engineers, lighting designers, and lighting designers more. Everyone who is a group associated with the production part. The artists are wonderful, but we need someone who will produce the scenery. Costumers and make-up artists are also in high demand in the labor market. Musical tuners — we are looking for piano tuners all over the country.

— Are they really needed in the era of electronic musical instruments?

— They are also important. I'll explain with an example. We are currently in St. Petersburg, and fountain specialists are needed here. This is a dynastic specialty in Peterhof, and we cherish it. The only change in all the years of this cultural heritage site's existence is that now specialists use telephones to communicate, whereas before they just shouted at each other. Therefore, more of them were needed to shorten the distance. Fountain specialists, antique clocks, antique clocks, restorers are unique people. They are necessary. Now, in fact, there will be discussions on how physical labor is necessary on every panel. In addition to near-philosophical discussions about artificial intelligence.

"To achieve success by working without zeal, you need to be at least Ostap Bender"

— I suggest we talk about TV series. It seems that demand has long exceeded supply.

"That's not true. We really need both TV series and films, especially films to be shown in cinemas.

— There are many projects, but only a few are being shot.

— And where is it wrong? I want 100% masterpieces. But there was no such indicator in the USSR either. We recall the heartbreaking golden 100 films of Soviet cinema, but we don't know that these films were created over the course of 40 years. And now we demand from our cinematographers, and I will always protect this industry, that they have 150 masterpieces. There won't be 150 masterpieces, because 80 of them will always be debuts. Some debut will be a masterpiece, but somewhere Akella will miss - yes, it happens. And this is a tragedy for the film crew.

We don't take into account the one and a half crooks who worked on the painting with a cold heart for the sake of profit. And there are still such people, although there are significantly fewer of them than the people who are really passionate about this case.

— Has the market cleaned itself?

— The market has been self-cleaning over the years, because such people are very visible. The EAIS system shows how much each film has collected. This is a line in your biography, and you will either continue to triumph, including participating in pitching, receiving government support, or you will be a loser crook. Therefore, at least here you need to be Ostap Bender.

— New neural networks are emerging today, there are more of them, and the quality is better. Some of them create a picture that is difficult to distinguish from the real one. Is there a risk that artificial intelligence will completely replace humans in film production?

— We hardly believe in such a scenario. So, let's say I'm sitting here talking to you, and at that moment I press a button on my smartphone and say, "I need a love movie where the heroine is 45 years old, she went there and met so-and-so." Then the AI makes a movie like this, and I turn it on, and everyone there plays at the level of, say, Alexei Batalov and Irina Muravyeva, our great stars. This movie makes me feel a lot of emotions, I cry at the end. It sounds, frankly, a little scary. As well as going to a symphony concert, where instead of 110 musicians there are robots.

Can it be like this in 100 years? I do not know, I am a lyricist, not a physicist. But for some reason it seems to me that because we so carefully preserve cultural heritage sites, all our traditions, all folk crafts... There is not a single type of art that has been lost or not preserved in Russian museums and in the world as a whole, it seems to me that the current art will remain.

Perhaps it will become partially elitist. But it is still like that in a sense, but from the point of view of intelligence, from the point of view of those who strive for it. Because until now, our ticket to the Conservatory costs 500 rubles. It seems to me that it will be the same in 300 years.

And the fact that at the same time it will be possible to create a cartoon for a child in the application and show it before going to bed — yes, probably something convenient, practical and coolly made, of course, will also be.
"The library is becoming a cultural center"

— Quoting the hero from the movie "Moscow does not believe in tears": "Nothing will happen: no cinema, no theater, just continuous television," what is happening with libraries today? Do they become points of attraction or do they die?

— They become points of attraction where the infrastructure is well-made, where new books are purchased, well-prepared tables, cozy ottomans and an atmosphere are created. And that's exactly how we develop libraries. The library becomes a cultural center where you can come and listen to an artist who reads Pushkin's poems, and exchange opinions.

— Do many regional officials need this?

— I'll give you an example, when the national project "Culture" was just beginning, we saw from our colleagues, the governors, that they painfully see their regional libraries, because there are eight federal libraries, and regional, municipal, rural — 42 thousand. The largest network.

For the governors, it was a constant worry that nothing would burn down or break down, and they saw a problem with low salaries for librarians. When we discussed the national project "Culture", we came up with model libraries together with the professional community. And a boom began, because the village library turned into a cozy literary cafe. Today, in libraries, you can lie on ottomans, read books in a comfortable form, rather than sitting in the reading room, struggling with back pain. Demand immediately increased. And the governors began to invest their money in addition to federal programs. Basically, we are currently doing this for about 300 libraries a year.