- Occupation
Producer, Director - Country
United Kingdom
Cairns David R.
Tsirk
Alexei Krugliakov is serious about being funny. At 25, he has finally found his vocation. After school he went to work in a dirty, sooty factory. When his national service came up, he was wounded by shrapnel as an army medic. But now he's studying to become a clown at the State School for Circus and Variety Arts, in Moscow. In Tsirk, Alexei is our guide to the school, a shabby relic of what was a vast Soviet circus system instituted to entertain the masses and spread propaganda. We meet other students and teachers... Committed and underpaid, the staff remember better, but less free, days - and have mixed hopes for the futures of the young people they teach.
Alexei Krugliakov is serious about being funny. At 25, he has finally found his vocation. After school he went to work in a dirty, sooty factory. When his national service came up, he was wounded by shrapnel as an army medic. But now he's studying to become a clown at the State School for Circus and Variety Arts, in Moscow. In Tsirk, Alexei is our guide to the school, a shabby relic of what was a vast Soviet circus system instituted to entertain the masses and spread propaganda. We meet other students and teachers... Committed and underpaid, the staff remember better, but less free, days - and have mixed hopes for the futures of the young people they teach.
David Cairns Shooting and editing documentary director based in London, UK. Born 1976. Shortlisted for ‘Best Newcomer’ at Grierson awards 2010. Education 2010: National Film and Television School (NFTS), UK MA Documentary Direction. Films 2010: The Crossing (Dir/Prod) 28-min doc set on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland. The introduction of a Sunday ferry service provokes protests from strict Presbyterians, but younger islanders celebrate. 2009: Tsirk (Dir) 23 mins. Alexei, a student clown, is our guide to the Moscow State Circus School, a crumbling Soviet relic and microcosm for the rise and fall of communism. DocFest Sheffield official selection, Nominated for ‘Best Newcomer’ at Grierson Awards 2010, other festivals 2008: Say You’ll Never Leave Me (Dir/Prod) 9 mins 2007: One Day in Shangilia (Dir/Prod/Edit) 26 mins. Other jobs 2005 – 2007: Freelance sub-editor, ITN and The First Post 2004 – 2005: BBC World Service Trust, Freelance Trainer, Somalia/Kenya. 2001 – 2004: BBC Radio Cleveland, Broadcast Journalist
I am an independent documentary director, having garduated from the UK's National Film and Television School (NFTS) this year. My film, Tsirk, was nominated for a Grierson Award in the UK this year and screened at Sheffield Doc/Fest last year, as well as other festivals in Russia and the UK. Before attending the NFTS, I worked for five years as a BBC local radio journalist. I fell in love with the process of making and editing documentary audio, and at the same time started taking photographs and shooting video for the radio station’s website. A training course from an experienced cameraman, and teaching myself to edit video, pushed me towards the school. I enjoy making pleasing images, but my main interest is finding people I respect and using film to capture and articulate what it is about them I admire.
National Film and Television School
Beaconsfield Studios, Station Road
HP9 1LG Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield Studios, Station Road
HP9 1LG Beaconsfield