The World Seen through Sokurov’s Video Eye

Sokurov achieved fame by his film »Russian Ark« (2002), a ninety-nine minute, uncut tracking shot through the Hermitage in St. Petersburg (camera: Tilmann Büttner), in which the history of Russia, from the time of the Czars up to the Revolution, was staged in the Museum spaces. This film, with the longest take in film history, not only represents a kind of world record but, as a masterpiece, as a new poetic documentary also won the »Independent Film Channel Visions Award« at the »Toronto Film Festival 2002«, was nominated in two categories (direction and camera work) for the European Film Prize 2002 and was also shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 2002. In addition to his approx. fifteen feature films Sokurov has also shot over twenty documentary and short films. Furthermore, he is not only a film maker but a video artist as well. The ZKM has dedicated an independent presentation to Sokurov’s video art. Sokurov was born in Siberia, in 1951, studied history at the University of Gorki and at the film academy in Moscow, where he graduated in 1979. Since then, Sokurov has been resident in St. Petersburg. For several years his films could not be shown in the Soviet Union. From his place of exile, the film artist Andrei Tarkovski espoused Sokurov’s work with the result that his films were finally released in 1986. Since then, due to the richness of their visual content, Sokurov’s cinematographic works have been shown worldwide and awarded several distinctions. In art circles his video works or video documentaries, with a running time of between twenty to ninety minutes, are highly prized, poetic-visual essays which he himself calls elegies. The list of titles, which will be shown during the festival at the ZKM, describes the entire spectrum the film and video artist has covered with his works and which has helped him achieve worldwide recognition. With a new type of cinematographic language, that comes to the fore especially in his short and documentary films, Sokurov has created a body of work still undiscovered by art criticism. With this unique presentational overview of a dozen electronic works of art, the ZKM intends to draw public attention from the film artist Sokurov to the video artist Sokurov, since the history of video art cannot be written without treating this aspect of artist’s work.

In the context of the Sokurov-Festival, the ZKM will be showing the following works
 

Program

Fri, July 14, 2006

7 p.m.
1978 Maria (Peasant Elegy) (Marija), 41 min., color
Immediately following
1986 Elegy (Legija), 30 min., b/w
8.45 p.m.
1990 Soviet Elegy (Sovetskaja Legija), 37 min., color
Immediately following
1985–1987 Patience Labour (Ertva ve Ernjaja), 10 min., color
 

Sat, July 15, 2006

4 p.m.
1982 And Nothing More (I ni ego Bolse), 70 min., color
5.30 p.m.
1986 Moscow Elegy (Moskovskaja Legija), 88 min., b/w
7.15 p.m.
1998 Confession, part 5, 52 Min., color, betacam sp., stereo
8.15 p.m.
1995 Spiritual Voices (Duchovnye Golosa), part 4, appprox. 60 min.,
color, betacam sp., stereo
 

Sun, July 16, 2006

2 p.m.
1996 Hubert Robert: A Fortunate Life (Robert. S. Astlivaja izn'),
long version 26 min., color, betacam sp. 1999
Immediately following
dolce...60 min, color, betacam sp., stereo
3.45 p.m.
1997 A Humble Life (Smirennaja izn'), 75 min., color, betacam, sp., stereo
5.15 p.m.
1996 Oriental Elegy (Vosto naja Legija), 45 min., color, betacam sp., pal, stereo
Immediately following
2001 Elegy of a Voyage 47 min, color, betacam sp., stereo
7.15 p.m.
2002 Russian Ark 99 min., 35 mm, color, Dolby digital

We wish to extend our gratitude to Aleksandr N. Sokurov for his generous support.

For the project organization we would like to express our thanks to Galina Antoschewskaja
Our thanks also go to those who loaned the works from the Studio Bereg, St. Petersburg, Freunde der Deutschen Kinemathek e. V., Berlin (Friends of the German Film Archive, Berlin, reg. assoc.), Archiv der Internationalen Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen und Delphi-Filmverleih GmbH, Berlin (Archive of the International Short Film Festival in Oberhausen and Delphi-Film Distribution Ltd, Berlin) and for making the program possible.