Yuri Viktorovich Kara (

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: Юрий Викторович Кара), born on 12 November 1954 in

Stalino Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...

, is a Russian film director, screenwriter and producer.

Biography

Yuri Kara was born on 12 November 1954 in the Stalino, which is now called

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...

. After graduating from high school No.17 in Donetsk in 1972, Yuri Kara entered the Physics and Chemistry department of the

Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys The National University of Science and Technology (MISiS) () is a public technological university in the field of steelmaking and metallurgy, based in Moscow, Russia. It was established in 1918 as a part of the Moscow Mining Academy. In 1930 ...

(MISA). During his studies, he was the head of the institute's vocal and instrumental ensemble. In 1978, he graduated from the MISA with a degree in physics of metals. He then worked as a radio physics engineer in Donetsk. In 1982, he entered the

Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, officially the S. A. Gerasimov All-Russian University of Cinematography (, meaning ''All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov''), a.k.a. VGIK, is a film school in Moscow, ...

, where he worked with film director Sergei Gerasimov and actress Tamara Makarova. He graduated in 1987 with a thesis film Tomorrow Was the War based on the story written by the Russian author Boris Vasilyev. The picture was sold in 48 countries. Yuri Kara became known in Russia with his movies ''Thieves within the Law'' (1988) and

The Feasts of Belshazzar, or a Night with Stalin ''The Feasts of Belshazzar, or a Night with Stalin'' or () is a 1989 film adaptation of Fazil Iskander's eponymous novella directed by Yuri Kara. In the 1990s the film was screened in the United States, including at the United States Congress. ...

(1990), and with his conflict with the

Russian Federal Space Agency The State Corporation for Space Activities "Roscosmos", commonly known simply as Roscosmos (), is a state corporation of the Russian Federation responsible for space flights, cosmonautics programs, and aerospace research. Originating from ...

(Roskosmos) which was caused by his film ''Korolev'', based on the novel ''Cassandra's Brand'' written by the Russian author

Chinghiz Aitmatov Chinghiz Torekulovich Aitmatov (12 December 1928 – 10 June 2008) was a Kyrgyz author who wrote mainly in Russian, but also in Kyrgyz. He is one of the best known figures in Kyrgyzstan's literature. Life He was born to a Kyrgyz father and Ta ...

. Roskosmos did not allow that actor Vladimir Steklov would really go into space for the film. In 1994, Yuri Kara became internationally known for the controversies surrounding his film

The Master and Margarita ''The Master and Margarita'' () is a novel by Mikhail Bulgakov, written in the Soviet Union between 1928 and 1940. A censored version, with several chapters cut by editors, was published posthumously in ''Moscow (magazine), Moscow'' magazine in ...

. Although the film was made in 1994, it was only premiered in the Russian cinemas on 7 April 2011. Despite the highest budget ever spent on a Russian film and the impressive cast with the most famous Russian actors, the producers decided not to release it. According to them, Yuri Kara's director's cut was unacceptable. Nevertheless, the soundtrack composed by

Alfred Schnittke Alfred Garrievich Schnittke (24 November 1934 – 3 August 1998) was a Russian composer. Among the most performed and recorded composers of late 20th-century classical music, he is described by musicologist Ivan Moody (composer), Ivan Moody as a ...

was released on CD. On 15 November 2010, the Russian film distributor

Luxor Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt. Luxor had a population of 263,109 in 2020, with an area of approximately and is the capital of the Luxor Governorate. It is among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited c ...

announced out of the blue that they had bought the rights on Kara's film, and that it would be released in March 2011. Eventually, it would be 7 April 2011. Kara continued making big budget films like ''Korolev'' (2007), ''Reporters'' (2008 - video) and '' Hamlet. XXI Century'' (2011).

Political position

Yuri Kara signed the petition of support of Putin's actions in Ukraine and Crimea in 2014. He called for the

Russian government The Russian Government () or fully titled the Government of the Russian Federation () is the highest federal executive governmental body of the Russian Federation. It is accountable to the president of the Russian Federation and controlled by ...

to officially recognize the

Donetsk People's Republic The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR; , ) is Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, occupied territory in Ukraine that the Russian Federation has claimed to annex and declared as a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia, comprising parts o ...

(he's a native of

)

Filmography

*1974 – ''Doctor'' (Thesis short film) *1987 – '' Tomorrow Was the War'' (Завтра была война) *1988 – ''Thieves within the Law'' *1988 – '' Kings of Crime'' *1989 – '' The Feast of Belshazzar, or a Night with Stalin'' (Пиры Валтасара, или Ночь со Сталиным) *1994 – ''

'' (Мастер и Маргарита) *2001 – ''I'm a Doll'' *2002 - ''King of the Cage (also known as Ya kukla)'' *2002 – ''Interesting Men'' *2005 – ''The Star of an Epoch (Loving you is like a Disaster)'' *2007 – ''Korolev'' *2008 – ''Reporters'' *2009 – '' Hamlet. XXI Century''

References

External links

* *
''Hamlet 21st Century'' on ''Kinokultura''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kara, Yuri Soviet film directors National University of Science and Technology MISiS alumni Russian film directors 1954 births Living people Honored Workers of the Arts Industry of the Russian Federation