The best day: the stars congratulated the Russian cinema

Nikolai Lebedev dreams of queues in cinemas. Evgeny Grigoriev — about people stopping eating and drinking in the halls. Someone lacks roles, someone lacks genre diversity, someone has already written poems about their screen experiences. On Russian Cinema Day, Izvestia invited current cinema professionals to congratulate themselves on the holiday and reflect on the pressing problems of their profession.

"Love movies, go to movies, watch movies"

Nikolai Lebedev, film director, screenwriter, President of the Russian Guild of Film Directors, Professor at VGIK:

— No matter what they say, cinema is the most wonderful of all the arts. It contains light and shadow, wonder and magic, emotions and flight, failures and successes — it contains life itself! It features thrilling stories, towering tragedies, hilarious stunts, comedic twists, proud heroes, beautiful heroines, and large-scale spectacles that you won't see anywhere else. Only in the movies!

What would we do, each of us, if there were no movies? Close your eyes and remember: how many happy moments the movie screen gave us, how it united and continues to unite us!.. For that alone, it's impossible not to love movies. Therefore, happy Movie Day, dear friends!

May each new film be the best and may it always leave a bright, unforgettable mark in the heart of every viewer! May there be excellent scripts, outstanding directing, great cinematography and acting! May wonderful ideas arise, as well as all the possibilities for their implementation!

And let the kilometer-long queues finally line up at the cinema box offices, as it happened in those years. There is no cinema without directors, screenwriters, cameramen, artists, make-up artists, costumers, actors, producers. But he's not even without an audience. Without each of us! That's why: love movies, go to the movies, watch movies — and may it bring you joy, happiness, and light emotions in your soul, a sense of spiritual harmony and belonging to something big and important. And so be it! Happy Holiday to cinema and creativity, friends!

"We need to slow down and not shoot the same ones"

Anna Yakunina, People's Artist of Russia:

— Our Russian cinema is amazing, I'm not talking about the old Soviet cinema: it's brilliant. We're the only ones like that. And you should never compare yourself with Western cinema. You don't even have to strive to be different. Maybe we would like to adopt some technologies from the West. But the main thing we watch our movies for is an artist, very alive in the frame, real. We are distinguished by our acting school, the school of emotions.

While on vacation, I watched several TV series without stopping: "An Hour before Dawn," "In Tea Park," "The Surgeon." Now the industry is very divided into those who are in favor of developing services and those who are filming for television. Not all generations can watch movies on the Internet. I think it's impossible to beat the TV. Thanks to him, cinema comes to the house. But of course, there are a lot of interesting scenario stories on the platform.

First of all, I would like to wish our cinema very good screenwriters. The story should be powerful. It's not always there. I wish that young artists would be noticed. To make the media take a back seat. We need to slow down and not shoot the same ones. Discover new names. And I would like to discover something new for myself, for example, to star in a serious thriller with a twisted plot.

"We inherited a stupid movie consumption model from the West"

Evgeny Grigoriev, director:

— I believe that cinema is a ray of light from behind, which illuminates the way to life. And what we watch in home theaters is a stream of electrons that hits the chest. That's why you have to go to the cinema. Watching a movie in the gym teaches us how to be human, and watching TV shows on iPads makes us lonely. Cinema makes us a nation, no matter how grandiose it may sound.

If we talk about development prospects, then I dream that we spend less money on making movies, and more on where to watch it. Because 6,000 screens for the whole country is very small. In China, they don't support cinematographers, they give money to open halls there. Before the pandemic, there were 74,000 cinemas, after that there were 68,000, and now there are 90,000! They open the halls so that people can come and become a society.

Along with popcorn, we inherited a stupid movie consumption model from the West. And this has never happened in our country and cannot happen. We went to the cinema to see a movie, not to eat or drink. Cinema should return to the way it was born, a way of exploring the world. Happy holidays!

"Do you think the audience wouldn't be interested in us?"

Lyubov Rudenko, Honored Artist of Russia:

— In our cinema, the characters in their 50s and 60s were completely excluded. Mostly, the main roles are written for the young. Experienced artists play grandparents. It's insulting and unfair. But it is precisely such heroes who have something to share and teach. Adult viewers who watch TV in the evenings want to watch movies about themselves.

Remember Anya Girardot, who played the main roles, for which the scripts were written. Take Meryl Streep, who became the record holder for the most Oscar nominations, why are our actresses worse? Screenwriters do not write roles for older artists. Do you think the audience wouldn't be interested in us? We can play, we can suffer, we can warn against rash actions from the screen, we can give life advice.

Male actors sometimes find themselves playing the roles of career military personnel, generals, and professors. I really want the scriptwriters to pay attention to experienced actresses. And that's what I wish for myself and my colleagues. Congratulations on Russian Cinema Day!

"At its best, this is a poetic movie created by the sixties"

Vera Tariverdiyeva, President of the Mikaela Tariverdiyeva Foundation:

— Thanks to Mikael Leonovich, I have been involved in the life of Russian cinema for many years. I witnessed his work and communication with wonderful directors, I visited leading Russian film festivals. And I was a witness to the establishment of one — the "Window to Europe". In the early 1990s, the festival was launched with the participation of composer Mikael Leonovich Tariverdiyev. And I can say that Russian cinema is a separate big world, exciting and interestingly developing, despite all the challenges. The discoveries and achievements of our national cinema from the 1960s and 1970s are especially dear to me. At its best, this is a special poetic movie created by the sixties. But even today there are artists who are looking for their own unique intonation. I was convinced of this when I recently attended the Window to Europe festival.

Good luck to all cinematographers and everyone who makes movies! Happy Movie Day!

"Modern times obliges Russia to look for its own unique style"

Vlad Malenko, poet, director, Honored Artist of Russia:

— The other day I found myself in a semi-boiling outdoor bath tub with two of the largest producers of our cinema. A thunderstorm was coming. The pines swayed above us like huge dancers. Large drops and ribbed bumps fell on his head. One was talking about the upcoming film adaptation of the famous controversial novel by Leo Tolstoy, the other immediately called about the delivery of two planes from the Great Patriotic War. Lightning continuously illuminated a part of the relict forest and the excited faces of the whales of the national cinema. And these were already shots of an interesting movie.

For me, cinema is a mixture of painting and poetry. Modern times oblige Russia to look for its own unique style, and cinema is the art that first discovers the grains of style through the insightful works of great masters. I congratulate my filmmaking friends on their professional day. Congratulating does not mean praising or hinting at a banquet. Congratulating means checking your watch, honestly admitting your mistakes, and moving on downhill. I'm also slowly preparing for my first film directing job. That's why I take this holiday seriously.

"A movie happens in a double, it was born, and nothing can be replayed"

Yulia Vysotskaya, People's Artist of Russia

— For me, Movie Day is my birthday as an artist. Because theater is an eternal, incessant process of birth, and cinema happens in a double — it was born, and nothing can be replayed.

I was very lucky, I had the best partners in my biography — starting with the movie "Go and not Come back" and hopefully not ending yet.… My partners were honest, loyal, kind, and patient. On this day, I would wish everyone involved such camaraderie and partnership. And when such happiness happens on the set, it is transmitted into the frame, which means that the viewer becomes an accomplice.

Our films are created by young, talented, mature, beautiful people, and I dream of continuing to work with them.

Happy Russian Cinema Day!

"We have something to be proud of"

Sergey Bezrukov, People's Artist of Russia

— Congratulations on the holiday to my colleagues, all those who have connected their lives with cinema. And of course, the audience! We have something to be proud of: there are many great artists and directors among our compatriots, whose names are forever inscribed in the world history of cinema. Our cinema has known different times, experienced both ups and downs. And this is normal, because art, especially such a massive one as cinema, reflects the feelings and moods of a huge number of people throughout our country.

We have gone through decades of disappointment and loss of faith in ourselves, the loss of our identity, including cinema. But I hope this part of the story is over. What Russian cinema is today is a credit to all of us, including the audience. I would like to wish you new original themes and ideas, new heroes who would inspire and unite all of us in the name of goodness. That's what art exists for.