Exclusive Interview with
Aleksandr Sokurov
- How did you come to make Alexandra ?
– I wanted to create a piece of art. I also really wanted to work with the great actress Galina Vichnevskaia. And, finally, I wanted to shoot a film according to my own script.
– In your films three main themes are frequently present – family, friends, and the others, distant people or foreigners. Of these themes and topics which is the one that most touches you in your own life?
– Of course, my family and close friends before all others, but people generally are important to me. – Do you believe that foreigners can become part of your family? – They most certainly can. The most important aspect in relationships is not nationality but the sincere attempt to understand each other.
– Could you see yourself making a film on Peace and, if so, how would you envision shooting that?
– I believe that all my films are essentially about Peace. If there was the theme of war in my films, it is there to shed light on the way to the Peace.
– Do you believe that the principles that could help peace exist and endure should be taught in the academic environment instead of those of victories and wars, and if your film were to be taught in academic institutions across the world, what would you most like them to learn?
– There are no problems that could not be solved. The most important principles for the leaders of all countries should be guided not by politics but by humanism. We should always vote for those who believe humanistic values to be more important than political ones. Wars occur when political principles are considered to be more important. It is the dehumanization of a society (American, European, Russian) that opens the way toward a military approach for solving conflicts.
– Whatever their origin, people come together in your films. In your own life is bringing people together equally important?
– Unfortunately, in my life it doesn’t always work this way. I live in Russian society and here it seems that different social groups are always in confrontation (political, economical, national). It is a source of deep regret for me.
– In 1998, Mother and Son was also one of the films nominated for the Time and Peace Film Awards but wasn’t chosen then. Nevertheless, both in that film and in Alexandra, you transcend love through beauty. Not a plastic beauty but a kind of poetic beauty of the soul that is reflected in the images you shoot. Do you think that through beauty, even when the subject touches upon topics of horror and terror, one is better equipped to sensitize people to moving toward an inner peace?
– Beauty by itself cannot change anything. When beauty and talent coexist in an evil man (it is not a rare case in today’s cinema), his creations could actually be quite destructive. There are examples to be found of this in the works of some contemporary directors.
– With Alexandra you have succeeded in making a film about war without showing any war, simply by suggesting it. There are no enemies either, just people who look at each other, who look at each other and might sometimes talk with each other. Do you believe in brotherhood between individuals after war?
– I believe in the imminence of peace. Any war end some day. Unfortunately, the end of a war does not always signify the beginning of peace. Peace starts only when people overcome fear and hate and begin to trust moral people.
– Do you personally believe that the action of a single human being can make a difference in the world around her/him?
– Yes, I do believe that.
– What do you believe to be the greatest challenge for the present world and how do you see humanity dealing with the solution thereof?
– Humanistic principles should be more important than political ones. Politics is just one of the possible instruments by which to solve humanistic problems.
– What does receiving the Time for Peace Award represent for you?
– My heartfelt thanks goes to you for the work you do