Nikolay Dostal, director, People’s Artist of Russia, member of the European Film Academy, shot a lot of well-known films. Some of them, for example “Shtrafbat”, still arouse discussions. The film “Schism” about the events of the 17th century and the famous church reform of Patriarch Nikon was shot in the Kirillov district (in particular, in the museum) several years ago. Now the director comes to Kirillov occasionally. This time Nikolay Dostal has come to the Vologda region to participate in the Art Festival “The Property of Republic” which will be held from July 12 to 13. He gave an interview on the eve of the event.
- Mr. Dostal, before you entered the Workshop of Georgiy Daneliya you had graduated from the Journalism Department of Moscow State University. Did you work as a journalist?
- No, I didn’t. I always had bent for cinema. I think it is hereditary. My father is a director and my brother began to work as an assistant director when he was 18. We lived opposite the Mosfilm. I wanted to study the humanities, but didn’t work in journalism in fact. Having graduated from the Higher Courses for Scriptwriters and Directors, I started to work in cinema.
- You had roles in the films, why didn’t you become an actor?
- These roles were mainly episodes. I didn’t strive for acting and didn’t event think of becoming an actor. I would play only character parts with my specific appearance. But it was rather useful experience for the future and long shillings for a young man.
- Having become a director, did you remember how it was to be an actor?
- If an actor in my film plays only one part, I play all parts in my work.
- You are a broadbrow in life. And what can you tell about yourself as a director?
- Once Gennady Khazanov played the part in my film. It was his first role in cinema. After the shooting he said: “Nikolay is Stalin in work”. I am very strict in work; otherwise it is difficult to achieve the desired result. I behave rather democratic, but demand a lot from the film crew. I support democratic rule in the society and film industry. I think authoritarianism is quite appropriate.
- You often turn to history in your films. Why is this subject interesting for you?
- It seems to me that our society doesn’t know its history, especially the history of the Soviet period where there were a lot of different myths. We should tell how everything happened in reality. While we don’t realize the history of Russia in the 20th century, we will fall into the same trap.
I shot the films about unknown pages of history of our country. “Shtrafbat”. Nobody spoke about penalized soldiers in large cinema. I wanted to show that they had also made their contribution – a great contribution - to the victory in the war. One penalized soldier (he is no more) told me and script writer Eduard Volodarsky once: “You certainly distorted something in details, but didn’t lie in the most important”. We knew about some inaccuracies, but it was not a documentary, but a feature film. We were to create an image of penalized soldiers who gave their lives not for Stalin, but for the Motherland.
The next film was “Zaveshchanie Lenina (Lenin’s Testament)” about great Russian writer Varlam Shalamov who always lived in the shadow of Alexander Solzhenitsyn. I rank Shalamov above him as a literary man and a poet. Alexander Solzhenitsyn was a researcher, a historian and a humanist. And Varlam Shalamov was a writer. I know that people started to read his books more often after our film.
The third film was “Schism”. By the way, Solzhenitsyn said that the events of 1917 wouldn’t have taken place without the events of the 17th century. This split in the society still exists. The word “schism” itself is being used often now. Taking into account what is happening in our society now, this film will be topical for a long time.
- How did you get an idea to shoot “Schism”?
- It is an interesting story. There is an episode in the film “Lenin’s Testament” when Varlam Shalamov, having returned from Kolyma, wrote a poem “Avvakum Pustozyorsky”. I read this poem (people can listen to a part of it in the film) and made such a line: Shalamov spent 15 years in Kolyma and survived; Avvakum lived 15 years in a pit and was burned. It was exactly after the Shalamov’s verse that I started to read about Avvakum, Nikon… Besides, my brother, producer Vladimir Dostal, made a counter-proposal to shoot a film.
- Did you cherish the idea for a long time?
- Yes, the script was written by Mikhail Kuraev with my assistance during 2,5 years.
- Did you know about Kirillov before you began to choose places for shooting?
- I knew about Kirillov since those times when the film “The Petty Demon” based on Fyodor Sologub’s novel was shot. But shooting took place only in Vologda. It was in the middle of the 1990s. I visited Kirillov and Ferapontovo and made tours of the monasteries. When I began to work on the film “Schism”, I came to see these places. Besides, Nikon lived in the Ferapontov and the Kirillo-Belozersky Monasteries in exile.
- You came to Kirillov several times after the shooting. What did you like here?
- Kirillov is a really Russian town with sacred land and beauties of nature. It is peaceful, serene and quiet. We, residents of the capital, lack it so much.
- Why do you shoot series more often than films?
- By the way, not everybody understands what series means. You can shoot the series without end (for instance, “Kamenskaya-7”, “Kamenskaya-8”). I shoot TV film series with the completed plot. Of course, I want to shoot and I shoot films. But it is more difficult to find money for films. Why? It is almost not compensated with distribution. There is no place for them among numerous American movies. It is simpler with TV series – the channel finances the shooting because the expenses will be covered during first screenings owing to advertising.
- A traditional question: what are your plans for the future?
- I don’t shoot anything after “Schism” for 1,5 years, because I want to shoot a film the script for which will be written by Yuri Arbatov. Yuri has created it taking into account my requests and I have become a victim of this script. I refuse all other TV projects. The tentative title of the film is “Monk and Demon”, it is a tragicomic story. Its main characters are Ivan Semyonovich who wanders about the monasteries during all his life and does any dirty work there and Demon in human shape named Legion.
This film is about eternal confrontation of good and evil with an unusual ending. Alas, we don’t have enough money for it now. The state gives only a small part; the rest is to be found by the producers. I can’t find the necessary sum for a year. It would be good to find a person who would agree to invest money into this project. By the way, it is possible that I will shoot this film in Kirillov and Ferapontovo.
- Mr. Dostal, and the last question: what is the destination of films in your opinion? Why do we need them?
- Cinema cannot change our life, but it can change attitude of people to life.
The interview was conducted by Irina Klyushenkova
