Viktor Kossakovsky (russian: Виктор Косаковский; born 19 July 1961) is a Russian documentary filmmaker.

Early life

Kossakovsky was born in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, at the time

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

U.S.S.R. The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

He began his film career in 1978, working as an assistant cameraman, assistant director, and editor at the Leningrad Studio of Documentaries. From 1986 to 1988, he studied screenwriting and directing at Moscow HCSF. He became a vegetarian during his childhood.

Career

Kossakovsky's first released feature was his 1992 documentary ''Belovy'' / ''The Belovs''. Subsequent works include his 2002 documentary ''Hush!'' / ''Tishe!'' and his 2003 documentary ''Russia from My Window'' (2003), both made from footage that Kossakovsky filmed out his bedroom window or on his street in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

; and his well-received mediation on the natural wonder of water, ''Aquarela'' (2018), released in the U.S. by

Sony Pictures Classics Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloom. It distributes, produce ...

. In 2011, his documentary ''¡Vivan las Antipodas!'' was selected as the opening film of the Venice Film Festival..

Awards

In 1993, his first feature, ''Belovy'' / ''The Belovs'', won both the VPRO Joris Ivens Award and the Audience Award. Other awards include the Special Jury Award at the

International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is the world's largest documentary film festival held annually since 1988 in Amsterdam. Over a period of twelve days, it has screened more than 300 films and sold more than 250,000 tic ...

for ''Pavel i Lyalya'' in 1999, the Documentary Award at the

Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...

for Sreda (Wednesday), the Award of Honor at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival for Sreda, the Dok Leipzig

Findling Award The Findling Award or short Findling (german: Findlingspreis) was a German film award donated by the umbrella organization of cultural cinemas and film clubs Verband für Filmkommunikation. It was founded in 1982 in GDR and was awarded on sever ...

for ''Pavel i Lyala'', the True Vision Award at the 2012 True/False Film Festival and the Genziana d'Oro – Gran Premio Città di Trento at the 60th Trento Film Festival (2012)..

Filmography

*''

Gunda ''Gunda'' is a genus of moths of the family Bombycidae (silk moths). The genus was erected by Francis Walker in 1862. It is primarily an Oriental genus, found in India, China and South-east Asia. Species *''Gunda aroa'' Bethune-Baker, 1904 *''G ...

'' (documentary) (2020) *''Aquarela'' (documentary) (2018) *''Demonstration (documentary)'' (2013) *''DisplAir'' (documentary short) (2012) *''¡Vivan las Antipodas!'' / ''Long Live the Antipodes!'' (documentary) (2011) *''Svyato'' (documentary short) (2005) *''Russia from my Window'' / ''Россия из моего окна'' (2003) *''I Loved You'' / ''Я любил тебя'' (documentary) (2003) *''Hush!'' / ''Тише!'' / ''Tishe!'' (2002) *''Wednesday 07.19.61'' / ''Среда 19.07.61'' (documentary short) (1999) *''Pavel i Lyala'' / ''Павел и Ляля'' (documentary) (1998) *''Belovy'' / ''Беловы'' / ''The Belovs'' (documentary) (1994)

References

External links

*
Master Class for Beginners at IDFA

Victor Kossakovsky Advice for Beginners
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kossakovsky, Victor Aleksandrovich 1961 births Living people Russian film directors High Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors alumni Mass media people from Saint Petersburg