Sofia Kapkova selects five films from the Center Documentary Film Festival
questions:
Yulia Vydolob
After a 15-year career on television, Sofya Kapkova does not like to give interviews. But before the fifth anniversary of the Documentary Film Center under her jurisdiction and the Center Festival taking place this week, Sofia nevertheless met with The Blueprint to choose from big program five films that are closest to her, and tell a little about them.
“The CDC has a small team - only 12 people. We show five sessions a day. We host a large number of festivals throughout the year, but the only festival whose program we formulate ourselves together with the Museum of Moscow is Center Festival, a festival about urban culture and the life of modern society.
I am not a film expert or a film critic. I often say that I am a professional viewer. And I'm interested in everything. Therefore, we are trying to formulate the program in such a way that a middle-aged viewer, an educated, caring resident of a big city, if he has a free minute and 300 rubles for a ticket, will come here and receive intellectual pleasure. We provide the viewer with “intellectual” entertainment, while implicitly educating. Big city, small man, the difficulties and difficulties we all have are approximately the same. It will be interesting to see how residents of other megacities cope with similar situations. This is what our movie is about. I like those films that the viewer can then transfer to their own life, look at it from a different angle.”
"Dina"
The Work
Gethin Aldous, Jerus McLeary
Great Britain
2017
Antonio Santini, Dan Sickles
USA
2017
“This film took the Grand Prix at the last Sundance. Dina is a 48-year-old woman. She has a boyfriend with whom she lives together. And she has Asperger's syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder. Everything is great with them, except sex. And sex is an important part of life. Watching their relationships, you begin to own life look differently. I really love these films and make my children watch them. The word “tolerance” is blurred in Russia, but still different ways we need to remind ourselves and everyone that people are good and bad, kind and evil, but the main thing is that we are characterized by our actions, and not by our state of health. Plus the movie is shot with a sense of humor, it’s a romantic documentary comedy.”
“The action takes place in an American prison, where thugs, murderers, and rapists with life sentences are serving their sentences. An important part of their lives is annual group psychotherapy sessions. Documentary filmmakers film the characters throughout this course. Psychotherapy involves some kind of rethinking; a person must articulate his feelings and experiences. Prisoners talk about their crimes, and through the crimes a re-evaluation of personality occurs. It seems to me that this film is generally one of the most important. We are a very closed society, and what scares me, quite aggressive, and we don’t talk much about our feelings. In our country, it would be nice for every second person to do this kind of internal work: look at themselves from the outside and express their feelings, annoyances, and bitterness.”
“Maurizio Cattelan: “Gone, I’ll be back soon”/
Maurizio Cattelan: Be Right Back
"Cars"/
Machines
Rahul Jain
India, Germany, Finland
2016
Maura Axelrod
USA
2017
“Catelan is a well-known prankster and bully. At the movie funny name“I’m gone, I’ll be back soon,” and there’s a story behind it too. When Cattelan had one of his first, perhaps even his very first, exhibitions, invitations went out and everyone came expecting something big. But the gallery was closed, and there was a note on the door: “I’ve left, I’ll be back soon.” Sometimes I also want to hang a note like this. Cattelan is one of the main contemporary artists, which greatly influenced visual culture. Remember the statue of the Pope at the beginning of The Young Pope that was crushed by a meteorite? So, this is a reference to Cattelan’s work.”
“It so happens that every year the program includes films related to the fashion industry. The events of the film take place in a small Indian village, in a weaving factory. The people who live and work there receive $3 for a 12-hour, if not 14-hour, work day. They produce materials from which big brands then sew clothes for which they charge exorbitant prices. And for some reason we still buy all this. It's beautiful - they show fabrics, white lace. In contrast, there are people who know nothing about beautiful life on the streets of Paris, London, New York, Moscow. On the one hand, this is again such a social cross-section, on the other hand, there is now a lot of talk about the world around us, about the fact that we must take care of nature, that we have overproduction. All these crazy fashion weeks, collections for fabulous money, which then disappear somewhere, are thrown away. My eldest daughter is vegan, she doesn't wear leather, she doesn't eat anything. She is honestly my main source of documentary content on this topic. This makes those who are throwing out another pair of sneakers or saving up money for a beautiful dress think twice.”
INTERVIEW: Alisa Tayozhnaya
SHOOTING: Alena Ermishina
MAKEUP: Fariza Rodriguez
IN THE RUBRIC “BOOKSHELF” we ask journalists, writers, scientists, curators and other heroines about their literary preferences and publications that occupy important place in their bookcase. Today he shares his stories about his favorite books CEO festival Context, founder of the Documentary Film Center Sofya Kapkova.
Sofia Kapkova
General Director of the Context festival
I really wanted to be like everyone else
and, imitating, I also began to read
syllable by syllable - and from stress I completely forgot how to add letters
into words
For me, books are the fastest and easy way escape from reality. They make life easier by helping us compare ourselves with those who have it harder or easier than us. I think that literary passions- this is generally the most intimate information that a person can tell about himself. Even nakedness in front of a camera is incomparable for me in terms of the degree of frankness. You truly get to know a person when he talks about himself and his memories through the books he reads.
I have many warm and funny memories associated with reading. For example, when I was seven years old, I was sick with pneumonia with a fever of forty and I came across Gogol’s “Dead Souls” - it seemed to me that this was the main Russian horror film. Or how, from an overdose of literature, before entering the philology department, I spent a couple of months reading pocket romance novels in thin covers, awkwardly hiding them behind something thick. For ten years in a row I traveled with my best friend, whose books always turned out to be better than mine, and we blasphemously tore the publications in half, passing the pieces to each other; I still have several of these halves at home.
I started reading at the age of four, and when I entered school, I saw that other children were doing it syllable by syllable. I really wanted to be like everyone else and, imitating, I also began to read like them - and from stress I completely forgot how to put letters into words. By the end of the first quarter, I forgot how to read at all and put the wrong accents everywhere: my mother, a psychiatrist, was called to school and asked to transfer me to an institution for children with special needs. Then, thank God, this was corrected - and I spent all the subsequent years with books. At first I wanted to enroll in philology, but, fortunately, I chose journalism: at the same time, literature was always with me, and plans for the future meant constant reading.
I continue to relate to many books, recommend others to friends, and listen very carefully to personal recommendations. I always read what my eldest daughter gives me, she’s almost eighteen. Most often I choose memoirs, diaries, biographies or science fiction. Is it with modern fiction Sometimes my relationships don’t work out: she is often, like a fiction movie, for me either too realistic or too far-fetched. Therefore, in the absence of new books, I would rather open the well-known classics.
I really like to study, and in my work there are always topics that I want to know more about - be it documentaries or modern dance. There are several rules that I adhere to: for example, I read English-language literature only in the original in order to train my English and not get upset when a bad translation kills a good thing. Another rule is to constantly update the library in the wake of book reviews or trips to favorite stores: I will at least try to open every praised publication in order to get an idea about it.
I really like to study, and in my work there are always topics that I want to know more about - be it documentaries or modern dance
Lev Tolstoy
"Anna Karenina"
The first time I read this book by Tolstoy was in the sixth grade. Then I perceived it as a love story, terribly empathized with the heroine and very emotionally perceived everything that was happening to her: these terrible ears of her old evil husband, which she could no longer bear, all her ordeals. Five years later, at university, I re-read Karenina and discovered that my husband was not so terrible. On the contrary, I even began to empathize with him - a gentle, intelligent, kind and understanding man. And the young, senseless lover began to irritate me terribly.
A few more years later, on vacation, due to the lack of other books, I returned to Tolstoy and was surprised at how my attitude towards Anna herself had changed. It was impossible for me, thirty years old, to understand how she adult woman with a child, I allowed myself to be so irresponsible. Now I have a rule: once a decade (I will soon be forty) I re-read Karenina, which acts as a litmus test for my internal changes.
Denis Diderot
"Nun"
I always empathize very strongly with women - in cinema, in literature, and in life. I feel more sorry for them than for men. I also read Diderot at school, being a maximalist with typical teenage problems. Page after page, I realized that my life was not so bad. Unhappy Maria, her misadventures and hardships - an example difficult fate at any time, regardless of origin, religion and standard of living. This book by Diderot is an ideal read for a teenage girl.
Giovanni Boccaccio
"Decameron"
Boccaccio didn’t make any impression on me in my first years, but when I was nearing thirty, I realized what a sensual text it was. I had close girlfriend, who was experiencing a strong romance: she and her lover corresponded with quotes from the Decameron. It turned out that I had never read anything more sexual in my life than their correspondence. ABOUT romance novels there is a stereotype that it is something like “He kissed her on the neck, and she was covered with goosebumps to her fingertips.” Horrible vulgarity. And here every quote is erotic. If someone’s sad end to love has not yet come (and it will definitely come), then in order to prolong the feeling, it’s worth re-reading Boccaccio.
Michael S. Roth
"Beyond the University:
Why Liberal Education Matters"
Now we talk a lot about what education should be, and the book by Roth, president of Wesleyan University, which even in America is considered the most liberal among all liberal arts colleges, is an excellent answer to this question. Humanities education develops self-confident people with a broad outlook and high adaptability. This book is an exploration of the university environment and what the point of education is in our time: facts are mixed with Roth's personal experience as he talks about his studies and the tradition of American colleges.
I recommend this book to all parents who want to understand what a promising education is for their children. Plus, she explains: learning is not a stage of several years, but a system of skills that can be used throughout our lives, no matter how the world around us has changed during this time.
David Lynch
"Catch the Big Fish"
I'm stressed and that's mine the main problem. David Lynch's book on transcendental meditation, which he has been practicing for many years, is a short guide to human properties and personal experience combating nervousness and anxiety. It is both a guide to a mental diet and a story about how and why one comes to meditate in the first place. Lynch does not speak as a coach or psychologist, but talks about practice using personal example: any thesis here has confirmation from biography and creative experience, which makes each word several times more significant.
David Servan-Schreiber
"Antistress"
David Servan-Schreiber wrote two important books: “Anti-Cancer” and “Anti-Stress”. His story is amazing: a doctor, being young and full of energy, is diagnosed with brain cancer - and this is always a death sentence. Schreiber was promised only a few months to live, but he lasted twenty years.
At one time, this book was like oxygen for me - I couldn’t live without it: you discover, you read that this has already happened to someone, this person coped with it, and that means everything will be fine for you too. She helped my mother get ready after being diagnosed with cancer, and she helped me support her in a situation in which I didn’t even know what to do. Reading such works alone with yourself and with loved ones, crying and empathizing is a mandatory stage in order to move on.
Katerina Gordeeva
"Defeat Cancer"
We filmed a three-part documentary about cancer treatment together with Katerina Gordeeva and relied heavily on Schreiber. The book “Beating Cancer” happened after our film, where there are pieces about me, about my mother and about the personal relationships of many people with their diagnosis. This book, despite the fact that it is about a very difficult life stage, gives a lot of hope and many solutions. She is real support, only in the form of text and ten different stories that generate an emotional response. The problem is that we are a very closed nation, and some things still need to be discussed in order to overcome difficulties together and not isolate ourselves from big problems.
"The New York Times. 36 Hours. 125 weekends in Europe"
You can deal with stress in many ways - and this is my most frivolous and simple. For me, Moscow in general is a rather nervous city, and from time to time I want to escape somewhere. Because of the schedule, it turns out that 36 hours in some city is the absolute maximum for which I can leave. Sometimes I use the book as a literal travel guide, and when I don't even have time to travel, I open it and just read what I could do in some European city for two and a half days.
This Friday I could fly here, see this and have dinner here - all these fantasies are incredibly relaxing. I’ve been to a lot of places, but I didn’t know basic things about many cities. So, on the one hand, this is a search for the unfamiliar in the familiar, and on the other, a complete avoidance of responsibility: you act according to a plan that has already been drawn up for you.
Heidi Murkoff, Sharon Mazel
"What to Expect When You're Expecting"
I recently became a mother for the third time - it would seem that there is no reason to be surprised, you seem to know everything perfectly well. But discoveries continue to happen - for example, with books. In America, I found myself in a store full of mothers and children with nannies and strollers, and I chose publications, including ones about pregnancy. The friendly cleaning lady, seeing my mountain of books, offered to help and began discussing future purchases with me. One book with a cover that said “20 million copies sold” quickly caught my attention, and my interlocutor looked at me in surprise: “What, you don’t know anything about it? This is the real Bible!”
The book is arranged in such a magical way that it provides answers to all current questions. Let's say you wake up in the morning with some discomfort or new sensation, open the page with the exact day of your pregnancy and read about how you feel, and find out that this is normal and will pass soon. The book is so popular that the company even released mobile app, where in real time on your phone you can control what is happening to you and your baby. The book is quite thick, but I didn’t even go for a walk without it. The thought that everything is under control and the answer to any question is at hand is very reassuring.
Sheng Sheyen
“Diaghilev. "Russian Seasons" forever"
Like a person making a festival about modern choreography, I have been reading dancers’ diaries and choreographers’ memoirs for several years now. And a book with such a title could not be passed by. I thought I knew a lot about this man, but the book was a revelation. She strengthened my belief that what I was doing was very right.
It turned out that we have a similar view of the world. This biography is not only a complete statement of the fate of the main Russian entrepreneur, but also a historical reference book of what happened to Russia a little more than a hundred years ago. People who are involved in culture in our country today recognize themselves very well in the characters of the book. In Russia we still have the same problems: the endless search for money, censorship. On the one hand, this upsets, on the other, it makes you come to terms.
Paul Cronin
"Werner Herzog: A Guide for the Perplexed"
This work will be translated and republished in winter - already famous book The interview “Meet Werner Herzog” was supplemented with material from the last fifteen years and information about all the films that the director has made since then. For people who make documentaries, books about Herzog are again the bible. In his personal memories and comments, one can easily read his sense of humor, self-irony and desire to experiment with the viewer, to mock him slightly.
Here are some small but characteristic stories, which explain a lot - about Herzog, his approach and relationship with the viewer. For example, what the director, after much deliberation, decided to voice for “The Simpsons” or what he feels about German football. Herzog describes why he films the way he films, and how he approaches a variety of things - and reading this is not only very informative, but also pleasant. After all, when someone great treats himself with humor, it’s worth a lot.
Posted on his Facebook account. However, instead of a detailed post with details of the wedding, he posted only one photo, which depicts the newlyweds against the backdrop of one of the capital’s embankments. “We did it,” Sophia a wrote in the comments. Former subordinates in the department say that the ex-boss’s wedding was a surprise for them.
The couple decided to abandon the banal combination of “a white cake dress and a black suit.” The bride showed off her tanned shoulders in an open blue dress, holding a bouquet of pink peonies. The groom, who had managed to grow a beard, dressed informally: jeans, a blue shirt and a dark blue jacket. “It was as if the color of the sky and clouds was specially selected to match the costumes,” Kapkov’s subscriber wrote in the comments to the photo.
Sergei Kapkov, one of the most famous Moscow officials, headed the capital’s department of culture in the fall of 2011. During the time he held this post, he managed to significantly popularize city cultural institutions and parks, especially among young people. He was even called the “minister of hipsters.” In March 2015, he resigned, but promised to “work as Sergei Kapkov” in the future.
The ex-official then described his future intentions as follows: “I don’t plan to work anywhere now.
I plan to try to compensate my family, my beloved woman, my children for the fact that for three and a half years I was practically not at home and work took up all my free time.
Therefore, I will be with my family, I will be with my children, I will be with my beloved.” Almost immediately after his resignation, Kapkov went traveling, including visiting South America. On his Instagram he also published photos from Cuba and Italy. On one of the cards he hugs curly girl. “The photo is called: “guess who,” his subscribers joke.
Sofya Gudkova works as director of the Documentary Film Center. Previously, she worked in and on Channel One. This marriage was not the first for both Kapkov and Gudkova. Kapkov was married to a TV presenter, they have two children: son Ivan and daughter Sonya. The divorce was finalized in the fall of 2010.
Then, in 2011, Kapkov met with TV and radio presenter Ksenia Sobchak; the romance almost ended in a wedding, but ended in the same year.
By the way, at that time the story was actively discussed that the creator of the festival allegedly tried to recapture Sobchak from Kapkov. Golden mask"and ex-artistic director of the Praktika theater. asked Ksenia to comment on the news about the new fan, but she did not talk about personal life, adding that “love is the only thing in the world for which you can and should give up everything.” As an informed interlocutor told Gazeta.Ru, Boyakov even allegedly challenged Kapkov to talk “like a man,” but the minister did not yield to the lady of his heart. The couple broke up a little later. In the early spring of 2012, Ksenia appeared in the company of opposition politicians.
Sofya Gudkova was married to deputy Dmitry Gudkov. The opposition politician left her with two children, having fallen in love with his press secretary Valeria Sushkova. According to stories, he - already divorced - went to pick up his chosen one in Cuba, where she allegedly went with her fiancé. IN interview Gudkov admitted to journalists that he really proposed in Cuba, adding that Valeria by that time was going through a breakup with her chosen one. The politician came to the wedding in July 2012 with his leg in a cast - he broke it while playing football. Posing in front of television cameras, he, as he put it, hid the cast behind the bride's dress.
Thursday left the public speculating about another upcoming high-profile wedding. She spoke about her intention to legitimize relations with the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry in an interview with the magazine about social life Tatler Olympic champion in figure skating. The ceremony may take place on August 1 in Sochi.
“Mitya is simple, and I really like his simplicity.
Despite all his busyness, when he comes home, he manages to nail something there, repair it, pump up the tires,” Navka shared in an interview.
“Everything happened surprisingly - because it shouldn’t have happened. True, it shouldn't. I resisted for a long time, understanding the complexity of the situation: there is a family, three children, and in general it’s all terrible. To be honest, I didn’t even like Peskov at first. Well, we talked, went to a restaurant a couple of times, I thought: “No, just friends.” But he’s great – he took it with elegance and perseverance. Somehow he did everything cunningly. It seemed like he was courting, but it seemed like he wasn’t. He seemed to say that we would be together, but for a year I called him Dmitry Sergeevich. I just couldn’t cross this line... I didn’t call or pick up the phone. And he managed to find me through friends. And he achieved his goal. And rightly so - you couldn’t take me rudely, no way,” Navka added in an interview with R-Sport.
Peskov, in turn, refused to confirm or deny information about the upcoming wedding. “I don’t comment on this at all, it doesn’t concern anyone,” he explained.
Former head of the Moscow Department of Culture Sergei Kapkov and founder of the Documentary Film Center Sofya Kapkova became parents again. First common child the couple was born back in May, but this became known only now - thanks to Sophia’s interview, which was published in the new issue of HELLO!. Sergei and Sophia named their newborn daughter original name- Zoe.
For both Sergei and Sophia, Zoe became the third child. Sergei also has a daughter, Sofia, and a son, Ivan, born in marriage to TV presenter Ekaterina Grinchevskaya, and Sofia has a daughter, Anastasia, and a son, Ivan, from ex-husband- politics and public figure Dmitry Gudkov.
We have a big family - mine eldest daughter will be 18 years old, and the youngest is five months old,” said HELLO! Sophia. - As such maternity leave I did not have. We often joke that Zoe should grow up to be a ballerina, because during pregnancy I visited maximum amount festivals of modern choreography.
Let us remind you that it became known last fall at Sergei and Sophia’s family that an addition was expected. opening Diana Vishneva festival "Context. Diana Vishneva", the director of which is Sophia: then visual changes in her figure became noticeable to the naked eye. Wedding of Sergei and Sophia took place a year and a half earlier, in July 2015: a photo with the eloquent inscription “We did it!” the newlyweds published on social networks.
HELLO.RU congratulates Sergei and Sophia on the birth of their daughter. Great interview with Sofia Kapkova can be read in the new issue of HELLO!.
