Film director Alexander Sokurov. Biography

People's Artist of Russia, film director Alexander Sokurov turned 75 on June 14. Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated the master on his anniversary, noting his contribution to the development of Russian and world cinema. Sokurov is the author of more than 30 feature films and about 40 documentaries, winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and winner of the Bronze Leopard Grand Prix at the Locarno Film Festival. His career, awards, and political position are described in the Izvestia article.

Early years and education

Alexander Nikolaevich Sokurov was born on June 14, 1951 in the village of Podorvikha, Irkutsk region. His father was a military man, a participant in the Great Patriotic War, so the family often moved — Alexander went to first grade in Poland, and graduated from school in Turkmenistan.

In 1968, Sokurov entered the History Department of Gorky State University. During his studies, he worked at Gorky Television, where he released his first television programs at the age of 19. In 1974, he received a diploma in history.

In 1975, Sokurov entered the directing department of VGIK, in the workshop of the popular science film by Alexander Zguridi. For his excellent studies, he received the Sergei Eisenstein scholarship.

Creative path and recognition

Sokurov's debut work is the film "The Lonely Voice of Man" based on the works of Andrei Platonov (1978). The film was not accepted by the institute's management, it was sentenced to destruction, but Sokurov and screenwriter Yuri Arabov saved the film. The film was released only 10 years later and won the Bronze Leopard Grand Prix at the Locarno Film Festival. Andrei Tarkovsky, after seeing the work, called Sokurov a genius and recommended him to the Lenfilm film studio, where the director was enrolled in 1980.

Until the end of the 1980s, Sokurov's films were not allowed to be distributed due to accusations of formalism and anti-Soviet sentiments. In 1989, the film "Days of the Eclipse" based on the story by the Strugatsky brothers won a prize at the Berlin Film Festival.

In 1999, Sokurov began work on a tetralogy on power, dedicated to major historical figures of the 20th century. The film Moloch (1999) was dedicated to Hitler, Taurus (2001) to Lenin, and The Sun (2005) to the Japanese Emperor Hirohito. Taurus won the Nika Award in seven nominations, including Best Director.

In 2002, the experimental film "The Russian Ark" was released, shot in a single take without editing — in one frame lasting 96 minutes. The film was a great international success.

In 2011, Sokurov won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for the film Faust, which completed his tetralogy about power. The chairman of the jury, Darren Aronofsky, noted that the decision was unanimous: "this is the film that changes the life of everyone who sees it."

Main awards and titles

In 1995, the European Film Academy included Sokurov's name in the list of the 100 best directors of world cinema. In 1997, he became an Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, and in 2004 he received the title of People's Artist of Russia.

He is a three-time winner of the State Prize of the Russian Federation (1996, 2001, 2014). In December 2011, on behalf of the Japanese imperial family, the director was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun with golden rays.