RUSSIAN NIGHTS. A CULTURAL EXPERIENCE

The 3^rd annual Festival “Russian Nights” came to pass in Los Angeles from April 3 to 10, 2005. It is obvious that the organizers of the Festival had succeeded not only in drawing an audience, but kept on its attention, and turned the event into tradition. It is widely proved by successful rounding up of the 3^rd Festival and traditionally planned for next year April the 4^th one. Starting with 2003 The Festival had settled in Hollywood’s unique and one of the most beautiful architectural complex The Pacific Design Center (PDC), which possesses not only cinema hall but also concert scene and exhibition place. Such arrangement is optimal to serve the organizers’ main purpose - promotion of wider acquaintance of American public with newest works of Russian cinema, music, theatre ,literature and arts.

Opening ceremonies took place on April 3 at the Silver Screen Theatre (PDC) The guests were greeted by Director of the Festival Anna Isaieva and Representative of West Hollywood Herman Molina

The Festival kicked off to a packed and enthusiastic audience with The Tuner - latest film by modern classic Kira Muratova. This was followed in the cinema festival program by The Return by Andrei Zvyagintsev, The Goddes: how I fell in love by Renata Litvinova, Harvest Time – a fiction movie debut of young Russian documentalist Marina Razbezhkina, Tairov’s Death by Boris Blank, A Driver For Vera by Pavel Chukhraj, Our Own by Dmitry Meskhiev, Taurus by Alexander Sokurov, Father by Vladimir Mashkov. The films were introduced by Russian movie stars Mikhail Kozakov, Bohdan Stupka, Vladimir Mashkov.

Two jubilees of Russian cinematography of 2005 – the 85^th anniversary of Mikhail Shveitzer and the 100 the anniversary of Grigory Kozintsev were marked by the Festival screenings of ROLL ON ,TIME! and King Lear.

Russian musicians feasted the audience with several interesting concerts - LA Philharmonic Orchestra under the world famous conductor Juri Temirkanov, Borodin Quartet, legendary and ever young rock-band “ Flowers”. Top Russian jazzmen Georgy Garanian and Alexei Zubov appeared in PDC and then took part in jam-session with American colleagues at the famous La Ve Lee Jazz Club. Balalaika soloist Alexei Arkhipovski and Formula Ethno group concerts became real stunned the audience with their interpretation of Russian folklore.

In Art Hall of PDC “Art Constitution: The First Illustrated Constitution of Russia” - the project of Ivan Kolesnikov, Sergei Denisov & Petr Vois supported by Moscow Museum of Modern Art, S.Art Gallery & the Kolodzei Art Foundation, Inc. attracted the lovers of fine arts. About 30 different illustrations – each an artistic interpretation of some of 137 Articles of the first post-Soviet Constitution of 1993 were presented.

The well known theatre and film actor Mikhail Kazakov and Anastasia Modestova, the singer presented poetical-musical interpretation of David Samoilov’s poetry “I was dreaming…” dedicated to the 60^th anniversary of Victory in the II World War. Mikhail Kazakov and Evgeny Reyn the other night commemorated the 65^th anniversary of the legendary Russian poet Iosif Brodski.

Alexander Filippenko, popular Russian actor suggested the audience of Silver Screen Theatre temperamental and humoristic staging of “ Five stories from Zoschenko to Akunin”.

Nami Mikoyan, daughter-in-law of famous Soviet political leader Anastas Mikoyan, represented her book “ With my own eyes” . Being herself a witness of different life events of Stalin, Khrushchov, Brezhnev, knowing personally many classics of world musical culture such as Shostakovich, Khachaturyan, Sviridov, she related her impressions in the presented book.

Russian Nights Festival closing ceremony featured awards of recognition and achievement. This year, the traditional awards, depicting the famous Tatlin Tower, were handed to actresses Shirley McLain and Mila Jovovitch, actor Eric Roberts, film director Oliver Stone and producer Peter Hoffman.

The “Russian Nights” Festival had taken place overseas already for the 4^th time – three times in Los Angeles and one in New York. From now on, according to Stas Namin, the organizers plan to widen the Festival geography. Next spring “ The Russian Nights” will return to Los Angeles, waited there impatiently by the faithful audience and then move to San Francisco.