Viktor Kossakovsky (; born 19 July 1961) is a Russian documentary filmmaker.

Early life

Kossakovsky was born in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, Russia, at the time

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, U.S.S.R. 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, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

; 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 arthouse film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloo ...

. 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, Netherlands. Description IDFA is an independent, international meeting place for audiences ...

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

Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), established in 1947, is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all titles are World, international, European or UK Premieres), in al ...

for Sreda (Wednesday), the Award of Honor at

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (, KVIFF) is an annual film festival held in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern Eur ...

for Sreda, the

Dok Leipzig DOK Leipzig is a documentary film festival that takes place every October in Leipzig, Germany. It is an international film festival for documentary and animated film founded in 1955 under the name "1st All-German Leipzig Festival of Cultural an ...

Findling Award The Findling Award or short Findling () 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 several film festivals. Far m ...

for ''Pavel i Lyala'', the True Vision Award at the 2012

True/False Film Festival True/False Film Fest is an annual documentary film festival that takes place in Columbia, Missouri. The Fest occurs on the first weekend in March (sometimes beginning in late February), with films being shown from Thursday evening to Sunday nigh ...

and the Genziana d'Oro – Gran Premio Città di Trento at the 60th Trento Film Festival (2012)..

Filmography

* ''Belovy'' / ''Беловы'' / ''The Belovs'' (documentary) (1994) * ''Pavel i Lyala'' / ''Павел и Ляля'' (documentary) (1998) * ''Wednesday 07.19.61'' / ''Среда 19.07.61'' (documentary) (1999) * ''Hush!'' / ''Тише!'' / ''Tishe!'' (2002) * ''I Loved You'' / ''Я любил тебя'' (documentary) (2003) * ''Russia from my Window'' / ''Россия из моего окна'' (2003) * ''Svyato'' (documentary short) (2005) * ''¡Vivan las Antipodas!'' / ''Long Live the Antipodes!'' (documentary) (2011) * ''DisplAir'' (documentary short) (2012) * ''Demonstration (documentary)'' (2013) * '' Aquarela'' (documentary) (2018) * '' Gunda'' (documentary) (2020) * '' Architecton'' (documentary) (2024)

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