KAREN SHAKHNAZAROV
LAUREATE OF THE SPECIAL “CAMERA 300”
Karen Georgievich SHAKHNAZAROV was born on July 8, 1952 in Krasnodar (Soviet Union, now Russian Federation).
Shakhnazarov is one of the leading Russian cinema masters endowed with a peculiar talent, film director, scriptwriter, author of prosaic works and producer. He is People’s Artist of the Russian Federation from 2002. The pictures created by the film director and scriptwriter are quite versatile in dramatic concepts and author’s messages; following traditions of genre cinema, they all have distinct plotlines and explicit relations of the characters.
As a child Karen was keen on painting and wanted to enter the Art Faculty, but that required an art school diploma, which he did not have. Thus he decided to study film direction at VGIK (All Union State Institute of Cinematography) in Moscow, from 1969 to 1975, when he graduated film direction under Igor Talankin’s workshop. So his speciality became film and television director. Being a student in 1973-1974 he worked on a contract as a production assistant at the Mosfilm. In 1975 Shakhnazarov made his first short- length feature film (writer-director) as graduate work, under the title SHIRE SHAG, MAESTRO!/STEP WIDE, MAESTRO! So, from 1976 he was a film director and from 1984 a production director at the Mosfilm Studio. After his first short length feature followed two more short-length films: NA SKOLZKOJ DOROGE/ON THE SCHOOL PATH (1977) and NA EKRANE VASILI SHUKSHIN/VASILY SHUKSHIN ON THE SCREEN (1977).
In 1987 Shakhnazarov became the art director of Creative Group “Start”, which was renamed onto Kurier Studio in 1990. Next 1991 he has been the art director of the Kurier Film Studio attached to the Mosfilm Concern. Since April 20, 1998 Karen Shakhnazarov has been combining his creative career with the far from easy duties of Genaral Director and Chairman of Administration Board of Mosfilm Concern.
In 1979 Shakhnazarov directed his first full-length feature DOBRYAKI/KIND MEN that won a prize of the Young Filmmakers Festival at Mosfilm and 2-nd degree diploma of 5-th All-Union Competition (VGIK) for best use of home-made color negative film stock (1980). Then he also tried his wings as a script writer (jointly with Aleksandr Borodyansky, his collaborator in many films to follow) for Ivan Kiasashvili’s film DAMY PRIGLASHAYUT KAVALEROV/LADIES INVITE GENTLEMEN (1980).
In 1983 Shakhnazarov, as script co-author together with A.Borodyansky, directed his first world wide known film in the genre of musical comedy. It was the film MY IZ DZHAZA/WE ARE FROM JAZZ, starring Igor Sklyar, Aleksandr Pankratov-Chorny and Yelena Tsyplakova, which brought recognition and popularity to Karen as film director and scriptwriter. The film defined by the viewers as the best film of the year, also took several international awards (Moscow Festival of Young Filmmakers, 1984; Special Prize of the Jury at IFF of musical films in Grenoble, France, 1984; IFF of films about Jazz in Lodz, Poland, 1984; Diplomas in London, Chicago, Hong Kong).
Shakhnazarov’s next very popular film (also script co-author with A.Borodyansky and director), ZIMNIY VECHER V GAGRAKH/WINTER EVENING IN GAGRY, released in 1985, become his second big success as musical comedy. The film won the Lenin Komsomol Prize for development of musical comedy genre and according to public opinion poll by “Soviet Screen” magazine it was recognized as the best home-made musical film of 1985.
The eccentric youth film KURIER/THE MESSENGER BOY (1987) both written and directed by Karen Shakhnazarov also received a great ovation. The author managed to grasp the features of the young generation that was growing up at the very end of the epoch of Stagnation and weird relations between people in those hard times. The film won Special Prize of the Jury and the Prize of FIPRESCI “In Memory of A.Tarkovsky” at XVth International Film Festival in Moscow, 1987. For fascinating and witty representation of the difficult subject of a young man’s character formation, the film was awarded at XXth International Film Festival in Tbilisi, 1987.
Again as script co-author with A.Borodyansky, in 1988 Shakhnazarov directed the fantastical tragic farce GOROD ZERO/ZERO CITY, starring Leonid Filatov. The film had great world wide success at the festivals (Main Prize “Golden Hugo” at XXVth Chicago Film Festival, USA, 1989; Prize of ESFA/European Science Fiction Association “For Best Film” in San Marino, 1989; Prize “Silver Spike” at XXXIVth International Film Festival in Valladolid, Spain, 1989; Prize of International Film Festival in Bergamo, Italy; the film also took part at LFF/London Festival of the Festivals in 1989).
In the historical feature TSAREUBIYTSA/THE ASSASSIN OF THE TSAR (1991), Shakhnazarov dwells upon the tragic lost of Nicholas II and his family. The film boasts an amazing duet of actors Oleg Yankovsky and Malcolm McDowell. This USSR-UK co-production participated in Main Competition at Cannes Film Festival, 1991.
Following this, Shakhnazarov, again as script co-writer together with A.Borodyansky, in 1993 turned to the genre of satirical comedy and directed his SNY/DREAMS. Starring Oleg Basilashvili DREAMS is a story of absurdity and nonsense of the post-Perestroika way of life in Russia.
The year 1995 saw the realease of AMERIKANSKAYA DOCH/AMERICAN DAUGHTER; the film starring Vladimir Mashkov is made in the best tradition of American comedy melodrama (Special Prize of the Jury at II-nd Intrenational Film Festival in Shanghai, China 1995; Big Presidential Prize “Nadezhda” to leading actress Allison Whitbeck ,USA, at III-th Open Russian and International Film Festival in Sochi, 1995; The film also participated in Competition program of IFF in Montreal, Cairo, Goteborg, Delhi, Tromso).
In 1998 Karen Shakhnazarov came out with another masterpiece of his, a brilliant picture under the title DEN POLNOLUNIYA/DAY OF THE FULL MOON: a bizarre kaleidoscope of plot fragments, it presents reality interwoven with romantic reminiscences, whereas its harsh, almost naturalistic picture turns into a poetical journey in time and space. (The film won: Special Festival Prize and Special FIPRESCI Prize at 33 International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary; First Prize at XIth Panorama of European Cinema in Athens; Prize of Presidential Council of IXth Open Russian Film Festival in Sochi “Kinotavr”; Professional Prize of Russian Academy of Cinema Arts “Nika-99” For Best Script to A.Borodyansky and K.Shakhnazarov).
The next remarkable film was YADY, ILI VSEMIRNAYA ISTPRIYA OTRAVLENIY/POISONS OR THE WORLD HISTORY OF POISONING (2001), a fantastical black comedy starring Oleg Basilashvili (Grand Prix at Open Russian Film Festival “Kinotavr”, Sochi, 2001; Prize for Best Script at International Film Festival “Kindred” in Columbia,USA, 2003).
The film VSADNIK PO IMENI SMERT/THE RIDER NAMED DEATH, 2004, touches upon the issue of terrorists of the early 20th Century. In 1904 Russia is shocked by series of cruel and cold-blooded murders. Government and military officials fell victims to terrorists. Confident of their infallibility and impunity, the terrorists started hunting the members of the Royal family. The film THE RIDER NAMED DEATH (screenplay by K.Shakhnazarov&A.Borodyansky), based on a novel “The Pale Horse” by Boris Savinkov, (pen name V.Ropshin, a Russian political figure of the beginning of the 20th Century, who organized and took an active part in the series of terror acts), tells the story that convulsed Russia in early 1900’s. The film THE RIDER NAMED DEATH in 2005 participated in the Competition of the IFFC “Manaki Brothers” with the cinematographer Vladimir Klimov. In 2005, the film was awarded at the Festivals in Jerusalem (Israel), Ischia,(Italy) and also had wider international presentation, taking part in the following International Festivals: IFF in Montreal, IFF in Brussels, IFF in Havana, IFF in Cape Town (Republic of South Africa), IFF in the town of Goa (India), FEST in Belgrade(Serbia), IFF in Singapore.
In his latest nostalgic feature film ISCHEZNUVSHAYA IMPERIA/THE VANISHED EMPIRE, released in 2008, tells about the Soviet youth of the 1970s in a truthful and touching way. Initially the film was titled BORN IN THE USSR (just to paraphrase the American film with the title BORN IN THE USA, 1987, directed by Paul Schrader, originated by Bruce Springsteen song from 1981).
Apart from his film directing and scriptwriting activities, to say nothing of being the Director General of Mosfilm Studios, Karen Shakhnazarov has also been a producer of his several films including the last THE VANISHED EMPIRE.
- Karen Shakhnazarov is Laureate of Boris Polevoy Literary Award for the Novel “Courier” written in 1982 that inspired him for his film with the same name, in original title KURER/THE MESSENGER (1987) that later on brought him The Vassilev Brothers’ State Prize of the Russian Federation. He is also winner of Lenin Komsomol Prize for development of musical comedy genre in the films JAZZMEN and A WINTER NIGHT IN GAGRY. He is laureate of State Prize of the Russian Fedaration for the film ZVEZDA/THE STAR as general producer of the project (2002, directed by N.Lebedev ). Beside the Novel COURIER he is also author of the Novel “Young dirigibles”.
-Member of the Union of Russian Filmmakers,
-Member of the Board of the Russian Federation Ministry of Culture,
-People’s Artist of Russia,
-Member of the European Film Academy.
FILMOGRAPHY (as writer-director)
SHIRE SHAG, MAESTRO!/STALK ALONG, MAESTRO! (1975); НА ШКОЛСКОЈ ДОРОГЕ/ON THE SCHOOL PATH (1977); ДОБРЈАКИ/KIND MEN (1979);МИ ИЗ ДЖАЗА/JAZZMEN (1983); ЗИМНИИ ВЕЧЕР В ГАГРАХ/WINTER EVENING IN GAGRY (1985); КУРЕР/COURIER/THE MESSENGER (1987);
ГОРОД ЗЕРО/ZERO CITY (1988); ЦАРЕУБИИЦА/THE ASSASIN OF THE TSAR (1991); СНИ/DREAMS (1993); АМЕРИКАНСКАЈА ДОЧ/AMERICAN DAUGHTER (1995); ДЕН ПОЛНОЛУНИЈА/THE DAY OF FULL MOON (1998); ЈАДИ, ИЛИ ВСЕМИРНАЈА ИСТОРИЈА ОТРАВЛЕНИЈ/POISONS OR THE WORLD’S HISTORY OF POISONING (2001); ВСАДНИК ПО ИМЕНИ СМЕРТ/THE RIDER NAMED DEATH (2004, director, general producer, script co-author together with A.Borodyansky); ИСЧЕЗНУВШАЈА ИМПЕРИЈА/THE VANISHED EMPIRE (2008, director&general producer).