In the funny hell of Novorossia

On the Cannes Film Festival on May 9, the premiere of the film "Donbass" took place.

Four years ago, Sergei Loznitsa shot the Kiev Maidan , and in Donbass talks about what happened in the territory that rejected the revolution and plunged into the war in Moscow. Russian troops ineptly depict the inhabitants of Gorlovka, there are commodity compositions with coal, and new owners of life, "militias", rob everyone-from poor old women to local heroes.

The characters of the Donbass are playing genuine scenes from the life of New Russia, reconstructing the plots that the director found on the Internet. Here are the "militias" defiantly punish their miserable comrades, convicted of theft of the phone, and the mountains of looted technology themselves ... Here the crowd is mocking the old man suspected in collaboration with Ukrainians ... But the winners are walking: the hero of Gogol's play "Marriage" Ivan Pavlovich Ovarian, who turned into a quiet militia, concludes marriage with a marriage. The species of a citizen of Novorossia . “You look at this, and as if what is happening, someone has already directed, this is a processed artistic material. This is striking. It was grotesque forms, a farce,” said Sergey Loznitsa in 2015 , when he began to work on the Donbass script.

This is the second picture of the Loznitsa in which the characters of the "Russian world" appear. In the documentary "Victory Day" (2018) "Night Wolves" and other cheers-patriots with the flags of Novorossia and St. George ribbons are celebrated on May 9 in Berlin.

The Donbass was shot in Krivoy Rog, a large international team worked on the picture, including Russians, but it is difficult to imagine that the film will be released in Russia.

How did the inhabitants of Krivoy Rog react to the flags of New Russia on the set? Sergei Loznitsa tells this and other questions after the Cannes premiere of Donbass: the film opened the festival program "Special View".

- Sergey, you worked with professional reports, and with amateur notes from YouTube and came up with them, reconstructed scenes. For example, a magnificent wedding of a field commander is a famous marriage of Motorola?

- No, this is the wedding of the militia, nicknamed the doll and the militia BMW . They had many such weddings. I took one of the brightest.

- How did you work with this video and how did you turn documentary scenes into cinema?

- I was amazed at how ambivalent this video. On the one hand, the tragedy, on the other hand, is a grotesque. I decided to describe the situation in which everything turns into a nightmare, into a fall and destructorization, into a complete destruction of society. He chose characteristic episodes and characteristic, in my opinion, stories, and then tried to create a structure where these episodes are connected with each other. I have a wonderful reference - the "ghost of freedom" of Bunuel. There, from one episode to another, the hero of the previous episode passed, then we lost it, and the new hero went to the next episode. I chose this form, and then we made the reconstruction of amateur video surgery with actors I have chosen. I rewritten something, because in life no one is consistent with the playwright that the screen time requires. But still managed to preserve the spirit.

- Bunuel's film ends with the fact that the demonstrators screams "Down with freedom!". “Donbass” is also about this: both people abandoned freedoms, and freedom abandoned them.

- Yes, this is such a tragic picture, but it is a tragifarsal, there are episodes where you can’t resist laughter.

-The funniest scene is a visit to the boss (this is Zakharchenko?) Vice president of the Martyr Feodosia Foundation of Kherson, a lady with a huge toad, who, getting down, carries an nonsense about the relics of the Holy Churila Pretkikov, but in fact he wants to extract something. But she is a small rogue, and he is large, and he destroys her like a cockroach. Wonderful actress!

Wherever the war is going on, society disappears

- Jeanne Lubgan from the Drama Theater in Daugavpils. I have already worked with her in the movie "Mole". And her partner in this scene is Vadim Dubovsky, who starred in me in the "meek". He actually drives trucks in the United States of America and sings.

- Yes, the famous "singing trucker ."

“ I really want him to become an actor, he is an amazing and charismatic actor.” But this is not Zakharchenko - this is a guy who led another area. The whole story actually happened, I only changed something in the final.

- In another scene, it is impossible not to identify the Cossack Babay in Black Papaha. But I did not recognize one character, although there is probably a prototype - this is a brave old woman who has become a field commander who searches and humiliates the passengers of the bus, saying: "We all have a sick mother."

- This is an amazing actress Elena Hyda from Kiev. And the story was told by the photographer and director of Dnepropetrovsk Sasha Techinsky: this happened to him and a German journalist, whom he accompanied on a trip to the Donbass. I wrote it down, and then I thought it would be great for Sasha to play myself. He happily arrived, played perfectly.

- In principle, it doesn’t matter who the prototype is Zakharchenko or Plotnitsky , Motorola or Babai, they are all interchangeable ...

- These are typological situations, they are similar. I think that everywhere in the territory where the war is going on, such fermentation and chaos begins, society practically disappears. The war is similar in any culture, in any environment, in any society. The situation develops according to the same laws, because a person is so arranged.

German journalist and field commander

- You shot the film "Donbass" in the country where the war continues now, a stone's throw from the Donbass. It is clear that no one on the set can perceive the war indifferent. How did you work in Krivoy Rog, among people who are somehow involved in this tragic story?

Sometimes they said: "Sorry, but I can't play a separatist"

- This is a very close experience for many who live there. We have many unprofessional actors of mass scenes, which we found in Krivoy Rog, about two thousand people starred in the picture. Some sometimes said: "Sorry, but I can’t play a separatist." I understand this feeling perfectly. The man who lives there and who, God forbid, someone died, this, of course, is very painful. In the scene at the checkpoint, where men are stripped to see whether he fought or did not fought, the guys who also passed the checkpoint played. They avoided the worst fate, they managed to jump out. I heard a huge number of tragic stories. This is a rather painful process: you are worried and, on the other hand, you must make a film, and this experience should not distort your work, you must still try to be objective as possible.

- Has your understanding of the Donbass conflict changed during the filming?

- No, it has not changed. I treated this in the same way as before I arrived there. I just got in touch directly with people who survived this - this is a completely different sensation. But what I thought about this before, I continue to think now.

- The German journalist is looking for a commander, looking for someone who started all this. And everyone nods at each other. We understand that the commander is actually from Russia, these people are also present there, but they refuse to call themselves, they say that they are from Gorlovka ...

It's just a robbery that is covered with beautiful words, gestures, flags

- This is all like a masquerade, where they are trying to cover with a mask that everyone has long known. But for some reason they continue to play this game. Why do you need it? After all, everyone understands everything perfectly, but at the same time for spectators and readers they continue to play this performance. Such a phenomenon is strange. After all, so far everything is not called as it should be named. Some kind of misunderstanding is present.

- And the essence of this process is the redistribution of those few wealth that these people remained. A jeep is taken from the businessman, the old woman has a piece of fat, while speaking something about the fight against fascism. And they go, and the wagons with coal are going somewhere.

- This is a robbery, it is just a robbery that is covered with beautiful words, gestures, flags. The essence is corruption and robbery, nothing more, well, even power, which in general is related to the redistribution of goods, is no more.

- The film is called Donbass, but it is not only about this territory. Such Donbass can be arranged anywhere. Recently, the premiere of your documentary "Victory Day" , shot in Berlin. In Treptov Park, you can also arrange Donbass. This is a common story, these two films are connected.

- Of course, they are connected among themselves - the characters in any case.

- And the characters exist in Russian literature. Your hero, whose name is Ivan Pavlovich Yaichnitsa, he is from Gogol's play “Marriage”, suddenly ended up in Donetsk. And Dostoevsky appears on the street ...

- Yes. A character appears, who goes against the current, spat aside in his hearts. This is the same scrambled eggs, only his beard was glued. The joke is hidden, it is not obvious, but who knows - sees.

The crowd is mocking a man who was accused of cooperation with Kyiv

- Dostoevsky leaves the crowd, who leads to the reprisal of a person who was suspected that he worked for Ukrainians. In fact, this is the gospel scene - the reproach of Christ.

Gradually begins with jokes, with a selfie, with smoking in the face, with names, and then proceeds to reprisals

- Yes, but I would not draw such a direct analogy. This story happened in the city of Zugras . I recorded the scenario in the script - a sequence of actions, dialogs, dramatic development - by amateur video. Then he played her with the actors. And the video was shot by some guy who laughed, mocking, gave advice. It struck me: how much it is possible to lose human face. This resembles the action of Marina Abramovich , when people felt that they were unpunished, have the right to do with her body, that they would like to, and what it came to. So gradually begins - with jokes, with a selfie, from smoking in the face, with names, and then goes on to reprisal. This is one of the climax in the picture: what everything can lead to, as it can end, developing in this way. All this lie, all this corruption in the broad sense and this breakdown lead to such a disaster, to a nightmare.

- And immediately behind this scene follows a wedding. The genre is constantly changing - from the tragedy to the farce and vice versa.

- Yes, a contrast shower. It seems to me that it should be that way. There is a completely different intonation, another emotion, another feeling causes a viewer. And then again a contrast shower ... We will not tell.

- And right at the wedding they remind you of what happened, show mocking on the unfortunate old man in the phone.

- How can this coexist? A striking thing.

Sergey Loznitsa

“Your fans ask me when they show the film in Russia.” I answer them that I can’t imagine this picture on the Russian screen, if only because your heroes speak the language in which they speak, and now it is prohibited by Roskomnadzor in Russia. In addition, we know that frantic people come to the cinema, as it was on Artdokfest, and doused the screen with some rubbish . Such films are not shown in Russia for many reasons ...

As for Roskomnadzor, I just ignore such restrictions

- I don’t know, wait and see. I wonder how the film will be perceived. Because it is one thing-what I think about it, and another thing-how it will be perceived by people who look at this in their own way. I tried not to take the side of the side. More precisely, I am on the side of people, man. I’m talking about whether I show what is outraged by, it amazes, nevertheless, I do not want to dictate my position to the viewer, I do not want to take away from him the right to my own judgment. I follow this rule in all the paintings. As for Roskomnadzor, I just ignore such restrictions, because people say as they say. Roskomnadzor tried to do something with Telegram, in my opinion, he did not really succeed. It is difficult to prohibit the language, it cannot be banned - it is like prohibiting fresh air.

“But they are stubbornly trying to do it.”

- This is impossible. In the end, people will see everything on the Internet.

“You said you are on the side of people.” I thought there are not villains in your film? Those people who travel on the bus? And also a mother who refuses to get out of shelter ...

- Yes. She is ashamed of her daughter, who apparently lives with the wealthy ruler of this territory. And other people are also ashamed. There are people there, if you look closely, but mostly, of course, Ilota.

-This breakdown, this disintegration that you are talking about will someday end or is everything completely hopeless?

- By and large, this is hopeless, since the only thing that can stop is education, education, what is the least. It's not about the economy, but in a state of consciousness. Unfortunately, it is not very happy. What do people who make decisions read? They read nothing. What is a priority for them, what they respect, what they despise? Unfortunately, no one is doing this, the farther, the more wild, uneducated, bad man. This can be stopped by family, school, culture.

- Gogol and Dostoevsky.

- Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and everyone else.

- After all, they themselves appeared from Russian literature, which they did not read. They are invented by these writers, but do not know that they are already described.

- For example, Oberiuts, Harms. I read denunciations from the Smolensk archive, found such a book by the Ardis publishing house: they reprinted the denunciations with comments that people wrote in 1929–30 in the police department. The Germans took these documents when they occupied Smolensk, then it turned out to be in the Huver archive. There is a Harms language. To people in order to change or do something with themselves, it is necessary to read and think about it, but no one reads. The amazing writer Leskov, never read in Russia. Or Turgenev is not understood, and there are very important things.

- How did the Ukrainian state participate in the preparation of the film? And how did you treat officials in Krivoy Rog?

- The State Cinema Support Fund, which is headed by Philip Ilyenko, supported the film, thank you a lot. Now in Ukraine 30–40 paintings are released a year, for three or four years films have been financed. There are amazing actors in Ukraine, magnificent teams of professionals, gorgeous workers' workers, stunning guys. The rest of the financing from Germany, Romania, the Netherlands and France. I have a wonderful international team, ten languages sounded on the site. The working language is English. I always work like that. This is great when the experience and talent of brilliant professionals from different cultures are united in the picture.

There were no problems with officials in Krivoy Rog, everyone managed to explain what we are doing, how important it is. The Society of ATO veterans helped us, the local administration also helped, the police. We have scenes where Colorado ribbons wear, where it was necessary to hang the flag of "New Russia". The Ukrainian copper-producer feared that the inhabitants of the city would somehow be indignant, to prevent the shooting, but no, there was nothing like that. In general, Ukrainians are very artistic, like Italians or French, you can shoot many without explaining what needs to be done, everyone understands themselves perfectly. In some scenes, unprofessional guys played better than honored artists. Many scenes are very complex, we rehearsed for a long time, it was two months of rehearsals. The most difficult scene is beating, many layers, many levels, many actors, you need to put it all. This is very interesting: how to make me like a spectator inside an event that almost documented in front of my eyes.

- What are you, the author of the painting "Maidan", do you think about what happened in Ukraine during these four years?

Ukraine as was different in relation to Russia, so it remains different

- I have never had big illusions, so my attitude to what happened has not changed at all. Ukraine as was different in relation to Russia, so it remains different. And the changes, the movement to the side, relatively speaking, the West is a long process, this is not one generation. There will be nothing at once, but there is some changes, I felt it. This is a very long way. To expect something from the new government, from the people who changed the rhetoric, but remained to some extent the same, I think an illusion.

- The supporters of the Novorossiya met there?

- Meet. But many understood what it was. The existence of this enclave sober up many. It became clear that it was possible to develop any development in such conditions. No one would like their territory such vegetation. No matter how anyone is related to the current Ukrainian government, no one wants to repeat the path of Donetsk and Lugansk.