| Russian filmmakers chose their president The name Nikita means “besogon,” Nikita Mikhalkov explained in his election speech. And the demons, the sound of whose claws he clearly distinguishes, are those who call themselves democrats, that is, members of the opposition from the Moscow Union... And the fight against them, with those who defend separatist sentiments, is for the collapse of a single union, who interferes with The ending struggle for the property of filmmakers is about to come to a victorious end...
The main thing that the congress demonstrated was the complete absence of a culture of democratic representation, the absence not so much of consolidation, but at least the formation of group interests and the complete inability to defend them. It was difficult not only for outside observers, but also for the participants themselves to understand who was fighting for what. The distrust that some of the delegates felt towards the activities of Nikita Mikhalkov had neither a formulated position, nor a clear argument, nor a recognized leader. Vadim Abdrashitov told everyone who came up to him during the break that he was ashamed of what was happening, and as an explanation he suggested watching his film “Magnetic Storms.” Screenwriter Irakli Kvirikadze, when asked how he could formulate the essence of the matter, replied that he really loves his friends, the House of Cinema. And he doesn’t like that his friends are on different sides. And he feels: “this is happening in the name of something, but where the truth is is unclear to me.” And at the end he joked: “I’m not from here.”
Almost everyone who actually makes movies today turned out to be “not from here”: directing, acting, producing - Todorovsky, Selyanov, Meskhiev, Balabanov, Rogozhkin, Proshkin, Sokurov (the list can be continued independently) - these days in the halls of the House of Cinema there are no was.
The convention of filmmakers, which began extremely emotionally, then wilted under a series of different speakers, by the middle of the second day it frothed with a real performance. After a break, it was proposed to change the agenda and finally proceed with the election of the chairman. They voted for the method of expression of will: secret or explicit. The raised mandates were counted several times, they got confused, then Nikita Mikhalkov suggested sticking to a secret ballot, which was accepted by the obvious majority.
The advance has begun. One of the filmmakers proposed himself, then they suggested Klim Lavrentyev, Mikhalkov’s current deputy for organizational issues, as well as Mikhalkov’s other deputies - Vladimir Makerants, Nikolai Ivanov. From the opposition, Svyatoslav Govorukhin, Eldar Ryazanov and Elena Tsyplakova were proposed. Then the self-recusal began (and the self-nominated candidate immediately recused himself), and as a result, two remained on the list - Mikhalkov and Tsyplakova. Already at this level it became clear that the opposition did not have any program, just as there were no clear leaders. Pavel Finn, today Mikhalkov’s first deputy, who is also the chairman of the Moscow branch of the Union of Cinematographers, is too odious a figure for many. He was not nominated.
Mr. Finn himself explained what was happening: “Over these seven years, the leadership has committed so many secret and unknown cases that they need another term to unravel it. It may be possible to unravel, but so far there is an obvious deception. The goal is to destroy the Union of Cinematographers of Russia, because Nikita Sergeevich does not need it, he needs to sort out his financial affairs. I have no right to accuse him of anything. But I have the right to make assumptions. Perhaps Mikhalkov’s activities will someday turn out to be a huge boon for filmmakers, but this is vague and a lot of time will pass, and the market is such a cruel space that he himself will decide where this union should be. As soon as the idea of a union as an inferior, poor, but social organization disappears, as soon as it becomes a participant in this market, the market itself will decide where this union should be. And these people who are now coming and pouring this fantastic oil on Mikhalkov will be the first to be thrown out of life.”
But the delegates were simply divided into those who were for Mikhalkov and those who were against. No one presented their arguments clearly. But there were many emotional performances.
Actress Zinaida Kiriyenko, without a microphone, from the audience in a beautiful, loud voice called on the deputies to think about who, besides Mikhalkov, can protect the property of the union? From which, she added innocently, we, however, have nothing... Other defenders of the current chairman put forward the following arguments as arguments: Mikhalkov is a friend of President Putin, he can enter any senior office, the government, and they will let him in; Mikhalkov is a stronghold of unity, it is he who can unite regions and capitals into a common organism... Director and actor Andrei Smirnov told the delegates about how masterfully Mikhalkov explained to the current owners of the Harlequin casino what troubles await them if they refuse to cooperate with the union in extracting profits from the Cinema Center.
The degree of controversy was high, the delegates called each other “bastards”, “liars”, shouted “shut up”. Actor Vasily Livanov, with a hoarse voice familiar to everyone after the films about Sherlock Holmes, attacked the Moscow Union, calling it a hernia that falls out at every congress, and complained about the gentle character of Mikhalkov, who sets this hernia instead of simply cutting it out...
The audience, it must be admitted, did not lose the opportunity to enjoy successful jokes, but showed signs of impatience when the speeches, especially those unkind to most speakers, dragged on.
Nikita Mikhalkov tried to speak last of the candidates, but Eldar Ryazanov was going to take this advantageous position, who literally forced Mikhalkov to go to the podium. Judging by the behavior of the most famous Russian cinematographer, it was clear that he needed to stay. He himself explained this desire by his loyalty to his word and the need to complete the property affairs that he had been conducting all this time.
According to the results of the secret ballot, Nikita Mikhalkov was unable to get the required three-quarters of the votes, although he beat Elena Tsyplakova by almost half. At the time of signing the issue, the congress continued. Alena Solntseva |
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