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Larisa Shepitko
Encyclopedia
Larisa Efimovna Shepitko ' onMouseout='HidePop("50194")' href="/topics/Artemivsk">Artemivsk
, Ukrainian SSR
– 2 June 1979, Kalinin Oblast
) was a Soviet
film director
.
in Moscow
as a student of Alexander Dovzhenko
. She was a student of Dovzhenko's for 18 months until he died in 1956. Shepitko graduated from VGIK in 1963 with her prize winning diploma film Heat, made when she was 22 years old. It tells the story of a new farming community in Central Asia
during the mid 1950s.
. The pilot, now principal of a vocational college, is out of touch with her daughter and the new generation. The film aroused considerable Soviet press controversy at the time, as films were not meant to depict conflicts between children and parents (Vronskaya, 1972 p 39).
Shepitko's third film was You and I (1971). This was her only film in colour. It was favourably received at the Venice Film Festival
, but lacked proper public exposure in the Soviet Union
.
The Ascent
(1976) was her last film and the one which garnered the most attention in the West. In it, Shepitko returns to the sufferings of World War II, chronicling the trials and tribulations of a group of partisans in Belarus
in the bleak winter of 1942. Two of the partisans are captured by the Nazis and then interrogated by a local collaborator, played by Anatoly Solonitsyn
, before one of them is executed in public. This depiction of the martyrdom of the Russians owes much to Christian
iconography
. The Ascent won the Golden Bear
at the 27th Berlin International Film Festival
in 1977.
Shepitko's growing international reputation led to an invitation to serve on the jury at the 28th Berlin International Film Festival
in 1978. However, she was unable to complete any other films. Shepitko died in a car crash with four members of her shooting team in 1979 while scouting locations for her planned adaptation of the novel Farewell to Matyora, by Valentin Rasputin
. Her husband Elem Klimov
, also a film director, finished the work for her.
Artemivsk
Artemivsk or Artemovsk is a city in the Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Artemivsky Raion. It is located on the Bahmutka River about 89 km away from the administrative center of the Donetsk Oblast, Donetsk. As of 2005, its population is 80,655.-History:There is...
, Ukrainian SSR
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
– 2 June 1979, Kalinin Oblast
Tver Oblast
Tver Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Tver. From 1935 to 1990, it was named Kalinin Oblast after Mikhail Kalinin. Population: Tver Oblast is an area of lakes, such as Seliger and Brosno...
) was a Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
.
Early Life
She went to the All-Union State Institute of CinematographyGerasimov Institute of Cinematography
The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography All-Russian State University of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov), VGIK for short, is a film school in Moscow, Russia.-History:...
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
as a student of Alexander Dovzhenko
Alexander Dovzhenko
Aleksandr Petrovich Dovzhenko , was a Soviet screenwriter, film producer and director of Ukrainian descent. He is often cited as one of the most important early Soviet filmmakers, alongside Sergei Eisenstein and Vsevolod Pudovkin.- Biography :...
. She was a student of Dovzhenko's for 18 months until he died in 1956. Shepitko graduated from VGIK in 1963 with her prize winning diploma film Heat, made when she was 22 years old. It tells the story of a new farming community in Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
during the mid 1950s.
Film Career
Shepitko's next film Wings concerns a much-decorated female fighter pilot of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The pilot, now principal of a vocational college, is out of touch with her daughter and the new generation. The film aroused considerable Soviet press controversy at the time, as films were not meant to depict conflicts between children and parents (Vronskaya, 1972 p 39).
Shepitko's third film was You and I (1971). This was her only film in colour. It was favourably received at the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
, but lacked proper public exposure in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
The Ascent
The Ascent
The Ascent , is a 1977 black-and-white Soviet war film directed by Larisa Shepitko and made at Mosfilm. It was Shepitko's last film before her death in a car accident in 1979...
(1976) was her last film and the one which garnered the most attention in the West. In it, Shepitko returns to the sufferings of World War II, chronicling the trials and tribulations of a group of partisans in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
in the bleak winter of 1942. Two of the partisans are captured by the Nazis and then interrogated by a local collaborator, played by Anatoly Solonitsyn
Anatoly Solonitsyn
Anatoly Alekseyevich Solonitsyn was a Soviet actor.-Work:Solonitsyn is best known in the west for his roles in several of Andrei Tarkovsky's films, including Dr...
, before one of them is executed in public. This depiction of the martyrdom of the Russians owes much to Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
iconography
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
. The Ascent won the Golden Bear
Golden Bear
According to legend, the Golden Bear was a large golden Ursus arctos. Members of the Ursus arctos species can reach masses of . The Grizzly Bear and the Kodiak Bear are North American subspecies of the Brown Bear....
at the 27th Berlin International Film Festival
27th Berlin International Film Festival
The 27th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from June 24 to July 5, 1977.-Jury:* Senta Berger * Ellen Burstyn* Helène Vager* Rainer Werner Fassbinder* Derek Malcolm* Andrej Michaolkow-Kontschalowski* Ousmane Sembène...
in 1977.
Shepitko's growing international reputation led to an invitation to serve on the jury at the 28th Berlin International Film Festival
28th Berlin International Film Festival
The 28th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 22 to March 5, 1978. This was the first year the festival was held in February.-Jury:* Patricia Highsmith * Sergio Leone* Theodoros Angelopoulos* Jacques Rozier...
in 1978. However, she was unable to complete any other films. Shepitko died in a car crash with four members of her shooting team in 1979 while scouting locations for her planned adaptation of the novel Farewell to Matyora, by Valentin Rasputin
Valentin Rasputin
Valentin Grigoriyevich Rasputin is a Russian writer. He was born and lived much of his life in the Irkutsk Oblast in Eastern Siberia. Rasputin's works depict rootless urban characters and the fight for survival of centuries-old traditional rural ways of life...
. Her husband Elem Klimov
Elem Klimov
Elem Germanovich Klimov was a Soviet Russian film director. He studied at VGIK, and was married to film director Larisa Shepitko. He is best known in the West for his final film, 1985's Come and See , a powerful tale of a teenage boy in German-occupied Byelorussia during the German-Soviet War,...
, also a film director, finished the work for her.