- Occupation
Producer, Director - Country
Russia
Gutman Alexander
In Search of Happiness
The central figure of the film is Borik Rak, former chairman of the last Jewish collective farm. His parents, who arrived to Birobidzhan among the fist Jewish settlers, exchanged a horse and cart for a tractor. The children and grandchildren of those who moved to the Soviet Far in the 1920s, `30s and `40s to build the Jewish Autonomous Region have dispersed across the world, leaving graves in the little Jewish cementaries with red stars on the obelisks. This land was supposed to become a paradise for an enormous number of Jews. The reality proved harsh.
17th of August
The first prison in Russia for those sentenced to life terms. A single cell. "Prisoner Boris Bezotechestvo. Life sentence. Article 102. Triple murder." Communing with a God who is indifferent to his fate. He prays, but is not a believer. His words filled the air of the cell. He talks and listens to himself. The space within the cell consumes him. His world is four walls and the view from the window. The prison physically thrusts the prisoner into TIME. A long succession of days and nights allotted to him, after which comes “hell” or “heaven”.
Up to the Neck or Bodybuilding
For a great part of his life, Igor Stepanovich Bosanko worked as a model for the most famous monuments in the Soviet era. He sat for statues of Lenin, Stalin, Soviet field marshalls, commissioners and kolkhoz farmers. The enormous monuments of the Soviet leaders (up to twenty metres tall) made up the symbol of the former Soviet Union. The symbol of power and invincibility that had to be maintained. The handsome and well-built ex-sportsman Bosanko was the perfect model for Stalin, although they did not look at all similar. By means of mixing this mini-portrait of Bosanko with archive footage, the director depicts the atmosphere, ideals, belief and hope of people living in the Soviet era.
The central figure of the film is Borik Rak, former chairman of the last Jewish collective farm. His parents, who arrived to Birobidzhan among the fist Jewish settlers, exchanged a horse and cart for a tractor. The children and grandchildren of those who moved to the Soviet Far in the 1920s, `30s and `40s to build the Jewish Autonomous Region have dispersed across the world, leaving graves in the little Jewish cementaries with red stars on the obelisks. This land was supposed to become a paradise for an enormous number of Jews. The reality proved harsh.
17th of August
The first prison in Russia for those sentenced to life terms. A single cell. "Prisoner Boris Bezotechestvo. Life sentence. Article 102. Triple murder." Communing with a God who is indifferent to his fate. He prays, but is not a believer. His words filled the air of the cell. He talks and listens to himself. The space within the cell consumes him. His world is four walls and the view from the window. The prison physically thrusts the prisoner into TIME. A long succession of days and nights allotted to him, after which comes “hell” or “heaven”.
Up to the Neck or Bodybuilding
For a great part of his life, Igor Stepanovich Bosanko worked as a model for the most famous monuments in the Soviet era. He sat for statues of Lenin, Stalin, Soviet field marshalls, commissioners and kolkhoz farmers. The enormous monuments of the Soviet leaders (up to twenty metres tall) made up the symbol of the former Soviet Union. The symbol of power and invincibility that had to be maintained. The handsome and well-built ex-sportsman Bosanko was the perfect model for Stalin, although they did not look at all similar. By means of mixing this mini-portrait of Bosanko with archive footage, the director depicts the atmosphere, ideals, belief and hope of people living in the Soviet era.
Graduated from the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute (1968) and VGIK (1978). Director, scriptwriter and cameraman since 1971. Currently lives in St. Petersburg Selected filmography: “The Russians are gone”, 1991; “1244…1245…1246…”, 1993; “The Clock History: From Vitebsk to This Day”, 1995; “A Body Sans Head Or the Bodybuilding”, 1997; “Dave Brubeck. Back to Moscow”, 1998; “For Three days and Never Again”, 1999; “Vinton Marsalis in Russia”, 2000; “A Journey to Youth”, 2001, «The Frescoes», 2002, «Sunny Side of the Highway», 2005; «Jewish Happiness», 2005; «Life Space», 2005; «Scythian Suite», 2006; «Boris Eifman. Ballet Rehearsal», 2006; «Fantasy Reflection», 2006; “17 August”, 2008.
Atelier-Film-Alexander
Kolomenskaya 28 apt 9
191119 St.Petersburg
Kolomenskaya 28 apt 9
191119 St.Petersburg