Alina Rudnitskaya Interview

”Gateway to East European Documentaries” – that’s what the IDF (Institute of Documentary Film) calls its website DokWeb that I check out pretty often because of its information and articles, like the one by Filip Sebek, who has interviewed Russian director Alina Rudnitskaya, whose fine film ”Blood”, that has been awarded here there and everywhere, is to be screened in Prague later this month and is included in the Kinedok screenings ” so it is also possible to see it at non-traditional venues during the whole year within this project organized by Institute of Documentary Film.”

Alina Rudnitskaya talks about the conditions for documentary filmmaking in Russia as they are today, about the big audience that wants to watch documentaries, the insufficent support from the state and her inspiration, here is a quote:

”I was influenced by Czech cinematography of the 60s and 70s, because I am a fan of black and white movies. I like the ironical films by Miloš Forman as well as the bitter tragicomic films by Jiří Menzel and the paradoxical women’s world in the films by Věra Chytilová. Tragicomedy is my favourite genre. Laugh through tears. Life is very paradoxical, not only black or white.  Everything has its own contrast: birth – death, love – hate. People are multilayered personalities. I look for the inner collisions and such situations in which people react in various manners.  They cooperate and sometimes contradict and get in conflicts with each other. And one more aspect – I live in Russia where the situation often changes 180 degrees: yesterday one kind of values was acclaimed and today the values are quite different. And if you don’t have a good sense of humor you can get depressed.  We live in spite of it.  And I try to catch it in my films.”

Read the whole interview on:

http://www.dokweb.net/en/?

ALINA RUDNITSKAYA ON FILMKOMMENTAREN:

Blood (2014), Victory Day (2015), I will forget this day (2011) , Bitch Academy (2008), Besame mucho (2006), Civil Status (2005), Communal Residence (2002)

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Tue Steen Müller
Tue Steen Müller

Müller, Tue Steen
Documentary Consultant and Critic, DENMARK

Worked with documentary films for more than 20 years at the Danish Film Board, as press officer, festival representative and film consultant/commissioner. Co-founder of Balticum Film and TV Festival, Filmkontakt Nord, Documentary of the EU and EDN (European Documentary Network).
Awards: 2004 the Danish Roos Prize for his contribution to the Danish and European documentary culture. 2006 an award for promoting Portuguese documentaries. 2014 he received the EDN Award “for an outstanding contribution to the development of the European documentary culture”. 2016 The Cross of the Knight of the Order for Merits to Lithuania. 2019 a Big Stamp at the 15th edition of ZagrebDox. 2021 receipt of the highest state decoration, Order of the Three Stars, Fourth Class, for the significant contribution to the development and promotion of Latvian documentary cinema outside Latvia. In 2022 he received an honorary award at DocsBarcelona’s 25th edition having served as organizer and programmer since the start of the festival.
From 1996 until 2005 he was the first director of EDN (European Documentary Network). From 2006 a freelance consultant and teacher in workshops like Ex Oriente, DocsBarcelona, Archidoc, Documentary Campus, Storydoc, Baltic Sea Forum, Black Sea DocStories, Caucadoc, CinéDOC Tbilisi, Docudays Kiev, Dealing With the Past Sarajevo FF as well as programme consultant for the festivals Magnificent7 in Belgrade, DOCSBarcelona, Verzio Budapest, Message2Man in St. Petersburg and DOKLeipzig. Teaches at the Zelig Documentary School in Bolzano Italy.

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