Unsuitable Leninland

In the St. Petersburg Investigative Izolator No. 1 as part of the film festival "Message to a person", a prisoner showed a documentary film by Askold Kurov "Leninland".

The graduate of the workshop of Marina Razbuzhkina Kinocumentalist Askold Kurov was spoke in 2012, after he took part in the filming of the film " Winter, Leave! " Dedicated to the protests in Russian cities on the eve of the parliamentary and presidential elections. The film "Leninland", mounted in 2013, is no less relevant than "Winter, leave!" It is dedicated to the Leninsky Gorki museum-reserve created in 1987, to this day.

To show from the inside how this museum works, whose employees, despite historical changes in the country, remain faithful to the work and word of Lenin, Askold Kurov got a job there. For two years he made this film. The result was a depressive picture of the non -dying, no matter what, the Soviet world. One interview with the deputy director of the museum, who finds the "vibration of Christ" in the Leninist hill, which is worth it! And this is in the place where the leader of the Bolsheviks dictated a note in the Politburo about the need for the beginning of the All -Russian campaign to remove values from churches and the need for mass executions of clergy! This is evidenced by director Askold Kurov.

-The people of my generation in the late 80s and early 90s felt euphoria from the fact that they were in a turning point, in a new country. And when I first ended up in the Museum of Leninsky Gorki, I was amazed. It turns out that this Soviet time can persist. It is transformed, deformed, but preserved. And now, after what happened in our country, it seems that that form of the state, the form of society, their structure has not gone anywhere. Left. For it to leave, it takes a much longer time. We now see that freedom of speech is gradually going to “no”, and propaganda in the media is revived in the worst Soviet traditions, we see political repressions, we see the presence of political prisoners, prisoners “May 6”, Oleg Sentsov.

- Oleg Sentsov - Ukrainian film director and screenwriter, was arrested by the FSB of Russia on May 11 on suspicion of terrorism. Why did you decide to shoot a film about him?

- We started making a film about him. There were courts, meetings with his friends. I am not very good for Oleg, but I personally knew. We met with him in Moscow during one of the first shows of his film " Gamer ". He struck me that, having no education, without special means of his own, he managed to make such a strong film on his bare enthusiasm. When the news came that he was arrested, that he was in prison, where he could spend another twenty years on a completely absurd, in my opinion, accusations, I realized that something should be done. I went to his first courts, but then I realized that I could not change anything. And you need to make a movie.

-What, after the annexation of Crimea and the war in the southeast of Ukraine, changes in Russia, in your opinion?

- First of all, in society. It seems to me that now the level of aggression has been incredibly increased. It seems to me that this is a huge fault of those people who use propaganda in order to set society on objectionable people. I recently shot a single picket on Manezhnaya Square. There was a woman with a poster on which it was written: "Let's stop the war together!" Passers -by who insulted her went, reacted very aggressively to her. As a result, some young man attacked her with fists, broke the poster. It was disgusting.

- You arrived at the International Film Festival "Message to Man." Maybe it would be worth the filmmakers to sign a collective letter calling for those in power to end the war, the termination of unbridled propaganda, turn directly to Vladimir Putin, for example?

- Honestly, among my acquaintances the position in Ukraine and Crimea is quite unambiguous. I do not really understand the format of such collective letters. I have never signed them and do not know how much it can help. I am ready to fight for specific people, such as Oleg Sentsov. And I would not make political statements.

-Your last film " Children of 404 " is dedicated to lbG teenage. What is his fate?

- The other day I returned from the Film Festival in Vladivostok. There were two shows of this film. At the second show, the nationalists attempted to provocate, but to no avail, fortunately. The film was met very well. There was a reason for the discussion about the attitude of society towards people who differ from the majority. This did not concern the issues of sexual orientation. The social aspect of this problem was rather affected. At international film festivals, the film is successful. Next week there will be a festival in Budapest, then in Hamburg. In Canada, this film is included in the special program "Documentary Cinema for Schools". The film will be shown to Canadian schoolchildren because the questions raised in it are considered socially important for them.

Concluded "Crosses" at the festival session "Message to Man"

Askold Kurov’s film “Leninland” is far from the only documentary that can be called political, demonstrated at the 24th International Film Festival “Message to Man”. For example, the film "Pussy against Putin" - a documentary chronicle of Pussy Riot will be shown, the film directed by Kitty Green "Ukraine is not a brothel" will be shown, dedicated to the Ukrainian movement Femen.

The same question that I asked Askold Kurov about how the filmmakers should and should react to the events of recent months, the annexation of Crimea, the war in the southeast of Ukraine, I also set the president of the film festival to the director of the teacher . He replied:

- I cannot answer for all filmmakers. They are free to do anything. Contact the government. And they can turn to the leadership of the festival with such an initiative. We will consider it. But I personally think that if any international festival is plunged into political intrigue, then the death of this film festival will come. It is important for us what is shown on the screen. If on the screen these questions that you are talking about are raising, for the sake of God. But to write something and demand something ... firstly, you say and imply a certain text of this message, and there may be opposite opinions ... for God's sake, let it happen, a personal group of people who want it. But the festival is out of politics.

It was expected that at the Message to Man festival the film of Sergei Loznitsa "Maidan" will be shown, but this did not happen. Alexey Teacher explained why there is no film on the festival list:

- Because I talked with Sergey Loznitsa. He recently had an operation, and he simply could not come physically, and we did not want to show the picture without him.

According to Alexei Medvedev , the film critic, which determined the program of the festival, is the term "political movie" today is outdated:

- It is very difficult to highlight what "political cinema" is. I can name any film, and its director will tell you that this movie is not political, but he made a film about people, about life, and will be right. There is no political movie in pure form.

- Is it possible to say that as the political regime is tightened in the country, film documentary begins to develop rapidly?

- Perhaps such a parallel is possible. For the past 25 years, we have been changing rapidly. There were a lot of different periods. The current take -off of the documentary cinema, related to the workshop of Marina Razbuzhkina and Mikhail Ugarov, is precisely - the consequence of some messages that came after the Soviet period. Because there were people who have won the authority, managed to open their private workshops, get some subsidies ... Another thing is that, of course, any tightening of the regime throws up the topics of the documentaryists. This is true.

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Askold Kurov presented his film in "Crosses"