Oscar winning Russian filmmaker Nikita Mikhalkov at IFFI 2015 Goa

Cine enthusiasts and filmmakers alike are in for a treat as Oscar winning Russian filmmaker Nikita Mikhalkov has arrived at IFFI 2015 in Goa. The Russian filmmaker, actor and head of Russian Cinematographer's Union will be given the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to world cinema at the 46th International Film Festival of India. The festival has a special Tribute section opening tomorrow with one of his master piece Burnt by the Sun at a galla Red Carpet at INOX III. Nikita Mikhalkov will be addressing Press tomorrow at 12.00 Noon at IFFI Media centre, ESG.

Nikita Mikhalkov trained as an actor at the Shchukin School, and studied directing under Mikahil Romm at the All Union State Institute for Cinematography (VGIK). At Home Among Strangers (1974) was his first feature, while he garnered international recognition with A Slave of Love (1975).

Mikhalkov moved in his films from the Revolution through the Classical heritage and the post-war period towards the portrayal of the present. With an incomparable body of work, Mikhalkov went on to represent Soviet Cinema internationally. Dark Eyes (1987) was his Italian production, while in 1991 he directed the French-Soviet co-production Urga, which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for an Oscar, in 1993. In 1994, Burnt by the Sun, won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival and an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1995. Finally, The Barber of Siberia, 1998 the most expensive Russian Film, with a 45 million dollar budget, opened at the Cannes Film Festival in 1999-an honour rarely accorded to a Russian director.

Greatly popular for his portrayal of the memorable Sergei in Burnt by the Sun, Mikhalkov has continued his acting career, appearing in such films as The Call, Song to Manchuk, The Red Tent, Flights of Fancy, Station for Two, Cruel Romance, and many of his own films, including At Home Among Strangers, A Slave of Love, An Unfinished Piece for Player Piano and Burnt by the Sun. He has built up a reputation as an actor's director.

Mikhalkov says that he improvises on the set, "In the way that Bergman does; that's to say during long careful rehearsals, which are the only way to give the team, and particularly the actors, the freedom they need. I find it impossible to have a complete blueprint for a film. Partly because I'm not sure that what I intend to do will be right, and partly because a film is always a living thing and I need to confirm this constantly. I don't set out to 'make cinema.' it's rather that something happens between the cinema and me and the result is a film."

Film buffs will be able to savour his films at the retrospective of his films lined up during the festival. The audience will be able to see, in particular, his masterpieces Sunstroke, The Barber of Siberia, and Burnt by the Sun.

Source : Equity Bulls

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