Alexander Sokurov facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Alexander Sokurov
Александр Сокуров
Sokurov in 2016
Born	(1951-06-14) 14 June 1951 (age 74) Podorvikha, Irkutsky District, Soviet Union
Alma mater	Nizhny Novgorod University Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography
Occupation	Film director
Years active	1978–present
Title	People's Artist of Russia (2004)
Awards	Order of the Rising Sun Ordre des Arts et des Lettres State Prize of Russia (twice)

Alexander Nikolayevich Sokurov (born 14 June 1951) is a famous Russian filmmaker. He is known for his unique movies and has received the title of People's Artist of Russia, which is a high honor for artists in Russia.

Some of his most well-known films include Russian Ark (2002), which was filmed in a single, continuous shot without any cuts. Another important film is Faust (2011), which won the Golden Lion award. This is the top prize for the best film at the Venice Film Festival.

Life and Work

Alexander Sokurov was born in a place called Podorvikha, in Siberia, Russia. His father was a military officer. He studied history at Nizhny Novgorod University and then went to a famous film school called VGIK. There, he became friends with another important filmmaker, Andrei Tarkovsky, whose film Mirror greatly inspired him.

Many of Sokurov's early films faced challenges from the authorities in the Soviet Union. During this time, he also made many documentaries. These included The Dialogues with Solzhenitsyn and a film about the apartment of director Grigori Kozintsev. His film Mournful Unconcern was nominated for a major award, the Golden Bear, at the 37th Berlin International Film Festival in 1987.

Acclaimed Films

His film Mother and Son (1997) was the first of his movies to become famous around the world. It won a special award at the 20th Moscow International Film Festival. He later made a similar film called Father and Son (2003). A famous writer named Susan Sontag said that two of Sokurov's films were among her top ten favorite movies from the 1990s. In 2006, he received the Master of Cinema Award at the International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg.

Sokurov often shows his films at the Cannes Film Festival, one of the biggest film events in the world. His film Russian Ark (2002) was very successful. People loved it for its amazing visuals and the fact that it was filmed in one continuous shot. This means the camera never stopped rolling from beginning to end.

Power and History Series

Sokurov has made a series of four films that explore how power can change people. These films are called a tetralogy. The first three films were about important leaders from the 20th century:

• Moloch (1999) was about Adolf Hitler.
• Taurus (2001) was about Vladimir Lenin.
• The Sun (2005) was about Hirohito, the Emperor of Japan.

In 2011, Sokurov finished this series with Faust. This film is a new version of an old German story by Goethe. It shows how the character Faust desires power. The film won the Golden Lion, the top award at the 68th Venice International Film Festival. The producer, Andrey Sigle, said that Faust helps us understand people and their inner thoughts.

Military-Themed Films

Sokurov is also very interested in the military world of the former USSR. This is partly because of his own family connections to it. He has made several films about military life:

• Spiritual Voices: From the Diaries of a War
• Confession: From the Commander’s Diary
• Soldier’s Dream

In 1994, Sokurov traveled with Russian soldiers to a border post between Tajikistan and Afghanistan. This trip led to Spiritual Voices: From the Diaries of a War. This very long film (327 minutes) explores war and the spirit of the Russian army. It uses beautiful Landscape photography, but the music and sounds are also very important. The film combines real sounds with strange visual effects, making it feel dreamlike. It shows Sokurov's unique style, with long takes and a mix of documentary and fiction.

In Spiritual Voices, Sokurov shows the young soldiers' fear and sadness. He captures their hard work and daily routines, like eating and writing letters. The film doesn't have a typical story with a clear beginning or end. Even when the soldiers celebrate New Year's, their happiness is short-lived. The next day, their difficult life at the border continues.

In Confession: From the Commander’s Diary, Sokurov filmed officers from the Russian Navy. He showed their routine and the lack of freedom in their lives. The film lets us hear the thoughts of a Ship Commander. Sokurov and his team filmed on a naval ship in the Arctic waters. They captured the sailors doing their daily tasks in a small space.

Soldier's Dream is another film by Sokurov about military themes. It has no talking. This film was made from parts of Spiritual Voices. It was shown at a film festival in Germany in 1995.

Sokurov has serious problems with his eyesight.

Studio

In 2010, Alexander Sokurov started teaching his own film course at the Kabardino-Balkarian State University in Nalchik. By 2015, 12 students had finished his course. Some of these students, like Kantemir Balagov, Vladimir Bitokov, Kira Kovalenko, and Alexander Zolotukhin, have become rising stars in cinema themselves.

Political Stance

Alexander Sokurov has sometimes spoken out about political issues. In December 2016, he asked President Vladimir Putin to rethink a decision about filmmaker Oleg Sentsov. However, Putin did not change the decision.

In 2022, Sokurov criticized the government and spoke against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Because of this, in June 2022, he was not allowed to leave Russia.

Sokurov's film Fairytale was banned in Russia. No clear reason was given for the ban. Sokurov has said that censorship is not allowed in Russia and that no one should stop people from seeing works of art. He pointed out that his movie has been shown all over the world.

Filmography

Feature films

Other works

• The Degraded (Разжалованный, 1980)
• Sonata for Viola. Dmitri Shostakovitch (1981)
• Empire (Ампир, 1986)
• Elegy (1986)
• And Nothing More (1987)
• Evening Sacrifice (1987)
• Patience of Labour (1987)
• Maria (Peasant Elegy) (1988)
• Moscow Elegy (1988)
• Sonata for Hitler (1989)
• Soviet Elegy (1989)
• Petersburg Elegy (1990)
• To The Events In Transcaucasia (1990)
• A Simple Elegy (1990)
• A Retrospection of Leningrad (1957–1990) (1990)
• An Example of Intonation (1991)
• Elegy from Russia (1992)
• Soldier's Dream (1995)
• Spiritual Voices (1995)
• Oriental Elegy (1996)
• Robert. A Fortunate Life (1997)
• A Humble Life (1997)
• The St. Petersburg Diary: Inauguration of a monument to Dostoevsky (1997)
• The St. Petersburg Diary: Kosintsev's Flat (1998)
• Confession (1998)
• The Dialogues with Solzhenitsyn (1998)
• dolce… (1999)
• Elegy of a Voyage (2001)
• The St. Petersburg Diary: Mozart. Requiem (2004)
• Elegy of a life: Rostropovich, Vishnevskaya (2006)

Awards

• Locarno International Film Festival, Bronze Leopard (The Lonely Voice of Man, 1987)
• Moscow International Film Festival, FIPRESCI Award (out of competition, The Lonely Voice of Man, 1987)
• Berlin International Film Festival, Award of the Forum special programme (Days of Eclipse, 1989)
• International Film Festival Rotterdam, FIPRESCI Award, KNF Award (Elegy, A Simple Elegy, 1991)
• State Prize of the Russian Federation (Mother and Son, 1997)
• State Prize of the Russian Federation (Moloch, Taurus, 2001)
• Russian Guild of Film Critics Prize for Best Director (Taurus, 2001)
• Nika Award for Best Director and Best Picture (Taurus, 2001)
• Toronto International Film Festival, IFC Vision Award (Russian Ark, 2002)
• São Paulo International Film Festival, Special Award for Lifetime Achievements (2002)
• Cannes Film Festival, FIPRESCI Award (Father and Son, 2003)
• Argentine Film Critics Association, The Silver Condor Award (Russian Ark, 2004)
• Yerevan International Film Festival, Golden Apricot for Best Picture (The Sun, 2005)
• Locarno International Film Festival, Leopard of Honour for Lifetime Achievements (2006)
• Venice Film Festival, Robert Bresson Award for spiritual search and promotion of human culture (2007)
• Venice Film Festival, Golden Lion for Best Picture (Faust, 2011)
• FEST, Belgrade Winner Award for his lifetime contribution to the art of film (2015)
• International Film Festival of Kerala, Lifetime Achievement Award for his lifetime contribution to world cinema (2017)

See also

In Spanish: Aleksandr Sokúrov para niños

• Sokurov's Voice (2014 documentary film)