Andrei Nekrasov
Encyclopedia
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
.
Andrei Nekrasov studied acting and directing at the State Institute for Theater and Film in his native Saint Petersburg. He studied comparative literature and philosophy at the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
, taking a master's degree, and film at Bristol University Film School. In 1985, he assisted Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director, widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers of the 20th century....
during the filming and editing of The Sacrifice. Nekrasov then made several internationally coproduced documentaries and TV arts programs (notably A Russia of One's Own, Pasternak, The Prodigal Son, and Children's Stories: Chechnya). His first drama short, Springing Lenin (1993) won the UNESCO prize at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
that year, and in 1997 his first feature, Love Is As Strong as Death won the FIPRESCI prize at Mannheim-Heidelberg
International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg
Mannheim-Heidelberg International Filmfestival is an annual film festival held jointly by the cities of Mannheim and Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg. The festival was established in 1952. In Mannheim there are six cinema centres and 19 single cinemas.The festival presents arthouse films of...
. The director’s second feature, Lubov and Other Nightmares (2001) won recognition at a great many of festivals all over the world (including Sundance
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
and Berlin) and confirmed his status as a rebel among Russian filmmakers. In 1990 he married the actress Olga Konskaya (1964–2009).
Andrei Nekrasov is also a playwright and a theater director. His German productions (of his own plays) include: Der Spieler (The Gambler) in Euro Theater Central in Bonn and Koenigsberg in the Volksbuehne Theatre in Berlin.
Nekrasov's 2007 film, Rebellion: the Litvinenko Case
Rebellion: the Litvinenko Case
Rebellion: The Litvinenko Case is a 2007 Russian documentary film covering the death of ex-Russian spy and dissident, Alexander Litvinenko, who was assassinated in London, United Kingdom in 2006...
presents interviews with assassinated former FSB
FSB (Russia)
The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation is the main domestic security agency of the Russian Federation and the main successor agency of the Soviet Committee of State Security . Its main responsibilities are counter-intelligence, internal and border security, counter-terrorism, and...
officer Alexander Litvinenko
Alexander Litvinenko
Alexander Valterovich Litvinenko was an officer who served in the Soviet KGB and its Russian successor, the Federal Security Service ....
and journalist Anna Politkovskaya
Anna Politkovskaya
Anna Stepanovna Politkovskaya was a Russian journalist, author, and human rights activist known for her opposition to the Chechen conflict and then-President of Russia Vladimir Putin...
. The movie contends that Russian state security service FSB
FSB (Russia)
The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation is the main domestic security agency of the Russian Federation and the main successor agency of the Soviet Committee of State Security . Its main responsibilities are counter-intelligence, internal and border security, counter-terrorism, and...
, the successor agency to the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
, organized bombings of apartments in Moscow
Russian apartment bombings
The Russian apartment bombings were a series of explosions that hit four apartment blocks in the Russian cities of Buynaksk, Moscow, and Volgodonsk in September 1999, killing 293 people and injuring 651. The explosions occurred in Buynaksk on 4 September, Moscow on 9 and 13 September, and...
and taking hostages in a Moscow theater
Moscow theater hostage crisis
The Moscow theater hostage crisis, also known as the 2002 Nord-Ost siege, was the seizure of the crowded Dubrovka Theater on 23 October 2002 by some 40 to 50 armed Chechens who claimed allegiance to the Islamist militant separatist movement in Chechnya. They took 850 hostages and demanded the...
to justify the second war in Chechnya
Second Chechen War
The Second Chechen War, in a later phase better known as the War in the North Caucasus, was launched by the Russian Federation starting 26 August 1999, in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade ....
and bring Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
to power.
His films include the documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
Disbelief (Недоверие) on the 1999 Russian apartment bombings
Russian apartment bombings
The Russian apartment bombings were a series of explosions that hit four apartment blocks in the Russian cities of Buynaksk, Moscow, and Volgodonsk in September 1999, killing 293 people and injuring 651. The explosions occurred in Buynaksk on 4 September, Moscow on 9 and 13 September, and...
. This film is available in DVD as an extra to Rebellion: The Litvinenko Case, but a low resolution version is available on Google Video
Google Video
Google Videos is a video search engine, and formerly a free video sharing website, from Google Inc. Before removing user-uploaded content, the service allowed selected videos to be remotely embedded on other websites and provided the necessary HTML code alongside the media, similar to YouTube...
.
Nekrasov's last film, Lessons of Russian, produced by his wife Olga Konskaya and Norwegian Producer Torstein Grude deals with the Russian-Georgian war of 2008
2008 South Ossetia war
The 2008 South Ossetia War or Russo-Georgian War was an armed conflict in August 2008 between Georgia on one side, and Russia and separatist governments of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the other....
. It documents a journey by two directors-protagonists, Olga Konskaya and Andrei Nekrasov, one on each side of the frontline during the hostilities. For this documentary, Nekrasov was named The Person of 2009 in the Georgian Public Broadcasting
Georgian Public Broadcasting
Georgian Public Broadcasting is the national public broadcaster of Georgia. It started broadcasting radio in 1925, and Georgian TV started broadcasting in 1956. Today, 85% of the Georgian population receive the First Channel , and 55% receive the Second Channel...
's internet survey.
Filmography
- 2010 Russian Lessons, 100 min, Documentary.
- 2007 Rebellion: the Litvinenko CaseRebellion: the Litvinenko CaseRebellion: The Litvinenko Case is a 2007 Russian documentary film covering the death of ex-Russian spy and dissident, Alexander Litvinenko, who was assassinated in London, United Kingdom in 2006...
, 113 min, Documentary, Premiere: Festival de Cannes 2007 - 2007 My Friend Sasha: A Very Russian Murder, 60 min TV documentary on Alexander LitvinenkoAlexander LitvinenkoAlexander Valterovich Litvinenko was an officer who served in the Soviet KGB and its Russian successor, the Federal Security Service ....
(BBC FourBBC FourBBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
Storyville, 22 January 2007) - 2004 Disbelief, Feature documentary, 35 mm, 105 min, Dolby SRD, Dreamscanner Prod. Russia-USA (Watch Free on Google Video)
- 2002 Koenigsberg, Docudrama, HDCam, 120 min, Color and B/W, Dreamscanner, Russia-Germany
- 2001 Lubov and Other Nightmares, Feature, 35 mm, 97 min, Color and B/W, Dolby SR, Dreamscanner, Russia-Germany
- 2000 Children’s Stories, Chechnya, documentary , Beta SP, 23 min, Vanessa RedgraveVanessa RedgraveVanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
and Dreamscanner, UK-Russia - 1997 Love is as strong as Death, Feature, 35 mm, 104 min, Dreamscanner, Russia-UK
- 1993 Springing Lenin, 35 mm, 23 min, Colour, British Film InstituteBritish Film InstituteThe British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
- BBC - 1991 The Prodigal Son, TV, 16 mm, 95min, Colour, BBC-La Sept-ZDF, UK-France-Germany
- 1990 Pasternak, TV, 35 mm, 90 min, Colour, ITV-WDR, UK-Germany-Russia
- 1989 Raising the Curtain, TV, documentary, 25 min, Channel 4
- 1988 The Millennium of Incredible Faith, TV, documentary, 16 mm, 60 min, Amaranthos, Greek TV
- 1987 A Russia of One's Own, TV, 16 mm, 85 min, Colour, Channel 4Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
Festivals
- Cannes 1993
- Sundance Film festival 2002, 2004
- Berlin 2001
- Sao Paolo 1997, 2001
- Rotterdam 2001
- Mannheim-Heidelberg 1997
- Karlovy Vary 2001
- Moscow IFF 2001
- Trömso 1997
- Göteborg 1997
- Cape Town 1998
- Ankara International Film Fest 2001
- Raindance, London 2002
- Independent Film Festival of Barcelona, 2001
- Outfest Film Festival, Los Angeles 2002
- (among others)
Prizes and awards
- CANNES Film Festival UNESCO Prize 1993 (Springing Lenin, 1993)
- FIPRESCI Prize, Mannheim-Heidelberg Film Festival 1997 (Love is as strong as Death, 1997) 'For the sharp moral and social perspective and the strong, expressive visual language which characterise the film’s view of contemporary reality.'
- Channel 4Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
’s sole nomination for the Prix Italia (A Russia of One's Own, 1987) - SPECIAL JURY PRIZE KinotavrKinotavrKinotavr , also known as Sochi Open Russian Film Festival is an open film festival carried out in the resort city of Sochi, Russia annually in June since 1991...
, Russian International Film Festival 1997 (Love is as strong as Death) - SPECIAL JURY PRIZE Moscow Russian Film Festival 2001 (Lubov and Other Nightmares, 2001) "for the innovative film language".
- BEST LEAD (female) AWARD Kinotavr, Russian International Film Festival 2001 (Lubov and Other Nightmares)
- Nomination for Golden Aries – all Russian film critics prize (Lubov and Other Nightmares, 2001)
- SPECIAL MENTION by the Amnesty Jury, Cph:dox, Copenhagen, 2004 (Disbelief, 2004)
- THE BEST DOCUMENTARY AWARD, Karachi International Film festival, 2005 (Disbelief, 2004)
External links
- Russian Lessons (official website)
- Disbelief (official website)
- Dreamscanner Productions
- Nekrasov's letter from the bedside of his poisoned friend Alexander Litvinenko
- Political prisoners are Russia's real elite Nekrasov's article.
Media
- Rebellion: The Litvinenko Case on Youtube: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
- Disbelief (Недоверие) on Google VideoGoogle VideoGoogle Videos is a video search engine, and formerly a free video sharing website, from Google Inc. Before removing user-uploaded content, the service allowed selected videos to be remotely embedded on other websites and provided the necessary HTML code alongside the media, similar to YouTube...
(in English and in Russian) - Lessons of Russian. Also on Youtube: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12