director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

People's Artist of Russia People's Artist of the Russian Federation (russian: Народный артист Российской Федерации, ''Narodnyy artist Rossiyskoy Federatsii''), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the Russian Federation, is an h ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

father and

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

mother. He moved all over the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

with his father's military assignments. He was so impressed with the space flight of the first Russian cosmonaut that he left his parents and moved to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

to study

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

at the

Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT; russian: Московский Физико-Технический институт, also known as PhysTech), is a public university, public research university located in Moscow Oblast, Russia. I ...

. Around that time, he developed an interest in amateur filmmaking, and he transferred to the D. Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology because it was equipped with a film studio for students. His cultural and artistic interests developed during the "Thaw". After graduation as an engineer, he worked as a manager at the Moscow Electric-Vacuum Industry, which was making colour TV tubes. From 1970 to 1974 Abdrashitov studied film directing at the Moscow Institute of Cinematography (Gerasimov Institute).

Career

Abdrashitov's directorial debut was ''Ostanovite Potapova!'' (''Stop Potapov!'', 1974), a satirical comedy based on the screenplay by

Grigori Gorin Grigori Gorin (russian: Григо́рий Го́рин), real name Grigori Israilevich Ofshtein (russian: Григо́рий Изра́илевич Офштейн; March 12, 1940, Moscow — June 15, 2000, Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian playw ...

. In 1975 Abdrashitov met with the unknown writer Aleksandr Mindadze, which began a collaboration that lasted for the next 12 films over 30 years. His 1997 film ''

Time of a Dancer ''Time of a Dancer'' (russian: Время танцора, Vremya tantsora), also translated as ''Dancer's Time'', is a 1997 Russian drama film directed by Vadim Abdrashitov. Plot They returned from the war. On the one hand, they won, and on th ...

'' was shown in the Stalker Human Rights Film Festival's regional presentation in

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East ...

in 2010, where he engaged in discussion with the audience.

Themes and style

Abdrashitov's films are often characterised by protagonists delving into self-exploration. His films have uncomfortable, challenging and intellectual themes; however, the director avoids depiction of

graphic violence Graphic violence refers to the depiction of especially vivid, brutal and realistic acts of violence in visual media such as film, television, and video games. It may be real, simulated live action, or animated. Intended limitedly for mature ...

in all his films. Instead, misery is alluded to in more creative and at times

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

ways.

Other roles

In 1990 he was a member of the jury at the

40th Berlin International Film Festival The 40th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 9 to 20 February 1990. The festival opened with ''Steel Magnolias'' by Herbert Ross, which was shown out of competition. The Golden Bear was awarded ''ex aequo'' to the American fi ...

. In 2016 he became a member of the Board of Trustees for the Fazil Iskander International Literary Award. He has been president of the

Russian Guild of Film Directors The Union of Cinematographers of the Russian Federation ( ru , Союз кинематографистов России) is the trade union of cinematographers, actors, and other professionals of Russian cinema. Founded in 1991, it was preceded ...

and the Stalker Human Rights Film Festival for some time.

Award and honours

*

People's Artist of Russia People's Artist of the Russian Federation (russian: Народный артист Российской Федерации, ''Narodnyy artist Rossiyskoy Federatsii''), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the Russian Federation, is an h ...

*1987: President of the Italian Senate's Gold Medal at the 44th edition of the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

, for ''

Plumbum, or The Dangerous Game ''Plumbum, or The Dangerous Game'' (russian: Плюмбум, или опасная игра, "Plyumbum, ili Opasnaya igra") is a 1987 Soviet coming-of-age drama film directed by Vadim Abdrashitov. The film was entered into the main competition at ...

'' *1989:

Alfred Bauer Prize The Alfred Bauer Prize was an annual film award, presented by the Berlin International Film Festival, as part of its Silver Bear series of awards, to a film that "opens new perspectives on cinematic art". The prize was suspended in 2020 after it ...

at the

39th Berlin International Film Festival The 39th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 10 to 21 February 1989. The Golden Bear was awarded to American film ''Rain Man'' directed by Barry Levinson. The retrospective was dedicated to German film producer Erich Pommer a ...

, for '' The Servant'' *1991:

USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...

, for '' Sluga'' *1995:

Silver Bear The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

at the

45th Berlin International Film Festival The 45th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 9 to 22 February 1995. The Golden Bear was awarded to French film '' The Bait'' directed by Bertrand Tavernier. The retrospective dedicated to American actor Buster Keaton was sho ...

, for ''

A Play for a Passenger ''A Play for a Passenger'' (russian: Пьеса для пассажира, translit. Pyesa dlya passazhira) is a 1995 Russian drama film directed by Vadim Abdrashitov. It was entered into the 45th Berlin International Film Festival where i ...

'' *1996: Several

Nika Award The Nika Award (sometimes styled NIKA Award) is the main annual national film award in Russia, presented by the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Science, and seen as the national equivalent of the Oscars. History The award was established ...

s as well as the Grand Prix at

Kinotavr Kinotavr (russian: Кинотавр), also known as the Sochi Open Russian Film Festival is an open film festival held in the resort town, resort city of Sochi, Russia annually in June since 1991, until it was cancelled in the wake of the 2022 Ru ...

, for ''

Time of a Dancer ''Time of a Dancer'' (russian: Время танцора, Vremya tantsora), also translated as ''Dancer's Time'', is a 1997 Russian drama film directed by Vadim Abdrashitov. Plot They returned from the war. On the one hand, they won, and on th ...

'' *2003: Nika Award, Best Director

Selected filmography

*''

Speech for the Defence ''Speech for the Defence'' (russian: Слово для защиты) is a 1976 Soviet drama film directed by Vadim Abdrashitov. Plot The film tells about a woman named Valentina Kostina, who is accused of attempted murder of her lover and pleads ...

(1976) *'' The Turning Point (1978) *''

Fox Hunting Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of h ...

'' (1980) *''

The Train Has Stopped ''The Train Has Stopped'' (russian: Oстановился пoeзд, Ostanovilsya poezd) is a 1982 Soviet drama film directed by Vadim Abdrashitov and written by Aleksandr Mindadze. The last film role of Anatoly Solonitsyn. Before the official p ...

'' (1982) *'' Planet Parade'' (1984) *''

Plumbum, or The Dangerous Game ''Plumbum, or The Dangerous Game'' (russian: Плюмбум, или опасная игра, "Plyumbum, ili Opasnaya igra") is a 1987 Soviet coming-of-age drama film directed by Vadim Abdrashitov. The film was entered into the main competition at ...

'' (1987) *'' The Servant'' (1989) *''

A Play for a Passenger ''A Play for a Passenger'' (russian: Пьеса для пассажира, translit. Pyesa dlya passazhira) is a 1995 Russian drama film directed by Vadim Abdrashitov. It was entered into the 45th Berlin International Film Festival where i ...

'' (1995) *''

Time of a Dancer ''Time of a Dancer'' (russian: Время танцора, Vremya tantsora), also translated as ''Dancer's Time'', is a 1997 Russian drama film directed by Vadim Abdrashitov. Plot They returned from the war. On the one hand, they won, and on th ...

'' (1996)

Personal life

His wife is artist Natella Toidze, a member of the

Russian Academy of Arts Russian Academy of Arts (RAKh / rus. РАХ, Росси́йская акаде́мия худо́жеств) is the State scientific Institution of Russian Federation, eligible heir to the USSR Academy of Arts. RAKh is the public cultural Instit ...

.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abdrashitov, Vadim Yusupovich 1945 births Living people D. Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia alumni High Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors faculty Tatar people of Russia Soviet film directors Russian film directors Honorary Members of the Russian Academy of Arts Academicians of the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Sciences "Nika" Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography faculty Russian people of Ukrainian descent Volga Tatar people Recipients of the USSR State Prize Recipients of the Lenin Komsomol Prize People's Artists of Russia Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography alumni Recipients of the Vasilyev Brothers State Prize of the RSFSR

Early life and education

Career

Themes and style

Other roles

Award and honours

Selected filmography

Personal life

References

External links