Fighting club

The VII Congress of the Union of Cinematographers of the Russian Federation ended the Congress ended on Friday by the election of Marlene Khutsiev to the post of chairman of the Union of Cinematographers (SK) of Russia. But this is not the end of history. Khutsiev’s candidacy became non -alternative because everyone else, nominated for this post, took self -setting up.

Including the head of the St. Petersburg studio RWS (Russian World Studios) director Dmitry Meskhiev, who began to be called the most likely candidate a couple of days before the congress. The foundations were: Meskhiev is relatively young, has a reputation as a serious professional, and also accepted the prime minister with leading Russian filmmakers as the head of RWS as the head of RWS.

After the film and television producer Alexander Rodnyansky, to whom the presidents of several guilds turned about a month ago with a proposal to lead the UK, reflected in this idea, the candidacy of Meskhiev seemed the most likely. But already at the Congress of Meskhiev, like several more people, including Sergey Govorukhin, rejected his own candidacy. Nikita Mikhalkov and Mikhail Porechenkov refused to participate in the nomination in the morning on Friday, motivating it with illegitimacy - from their point of view - the congress.

So, the 83-year-old Patriarch of Russian film director Marlene Khutsiev was elected to the chairmen of the UK, and, in fact, taking into account the current situation, for the role of an anti-crisis manager. Naturally, in these circumstances, the figure of the first secretary of the UK, that is, the first Zam Khutsiev, becomes key. At the first meeting of the new board, Meskhiev was elected to them at the Saturday on Saturday. The board, in particular, included the directors of Vadim Abdrashitov, Harry Bardin, Alexander Sokurov, Peter and Valery Todorovsky, George Danelia, Rustam Ibragimbekov, Alexander Mitta, Alexander Proshkin, film critic Andrei Plakhov, director of the Museum of the Kino, Num Kleiman, First Deputy General Director of the State Film Fund, Vladimir Dmitriev, Chief editor -in -chief of the magazine "Art Cinema "Daniil Dondury.

At the same meeting, the board adopted in the UK a list of 60 “young” filmmakers, who on Thursday the congress refused a collective entry. Now the most active members of the “youth” group (and in fact, groups where there are people of generations of 20-year-old, 30-year, 40-year-old, and 50-year-olds) have a chance to become secretaries of the UK.

Actually, this is the first step to what new members of the UK would like to achieve: to introduce the collegial department of the Union, which gradually should turn into a film institute like those that exist in Western Europe, but while retaining their trade union functions. On the eve of the congress, one of the leading Russian directors Vadim Abdrashitov put forward a similar idea: it is necessary to create in the UK like a government of the transition period, when the authorities actually move on to guilds. It is in this form that the UK can become a partner in negotiations with the state on the further development of the industry.

However, it’s too early to talk with confidence about what path the SK will go further. Much will depend on the position of Dmitry Meskhiev, and on whether the decisions of the congress will be recognized as legitimate, and the congress itself. Nikita Mikhalkov is going to dispute this. Today, the new board will hold a press conference for Russian and foreign media - in order to announce: there is no split in the UK, but there is discontent with the previous leadership. The struggle continues.

12/21/2008 / Martha Vasina, Arkady Klykov, the material was published in the newspaper No. 243 of December 22, 2008.