Director and actress Galina Urazova lives on a farm and shoots movies there

Galina Urazova is an actress and director. She starred in short films and serials – “Pyatnitsky. Chapter Three”, “SashaTanya”, “Doctors’ Case”, “Univer. New hostel. Galina filmed her debut feature film Kapkan in 2021. It is about a huntsman and his wife, who live together on a farm. It seems that a woman is able to endure everything – insults, violence, but for the time being.

Galina was born in the Voronezh region, graduated from the workshop of Elena Borzova at the International Institute of Cinema, Television and Radio Broadcasting, then the Higher Courses for Scriptwriters and Directors, where her masters were Vladimir Khotinenko, Pavel Finn, Vladimir Fenchenko. Her only full-length picture has a completely happy fate, except for the fact that few people have seen it. “Kapkan” was awarded for the best script at the “Window to Europe” in Vyborg, became the best feature film at the Kazan Muslim Film Festival. And the lead actress Maria Boltneva was awarded the Cheboksary International Festival. At the SIFFA festival held in London and Sochi, Kapkan was recognized as the best work of a sound engineer. For a dissertation, this is very solid.

Very soon, the film will take part in the crazy journey of auteur cinema, which is organized by Maxim Dobromyslov, together with fellow students from the VGIK workshop of Karen Shakhnazarov, Alexander Khant and Vitaly Suslin, directors Anton Bilzho and Dmitry Davydov who joined them. They will go with their paintings across Latin America, in fact, having nothing in their pockets and relying on fate. Almost hitchhiking, stopping in different cities and countries for a day or two to show my movies where possible, even in the open air. From the picture of Galina Urazova, this path will begin in Moscow.

We talked with Galina about how her film was born.

– How did you make a film with no funding and no support at all?

– At first I dreamed about the film. I went to the screenwriter, said that I urgently need to write down the cards, otherwise I’ll forget (many screenwriters do this to fix their ideas, then it’s easier to group them, for this they use multi-colored cards – S.Kh.). I arrived at her place at ten in the evening, and by five in the morning we filled out 53 cards. Then work on the script began. And while it was being born, I began to assemble a team, look for people and funding. I found a cameraman, a production designer, and started casting. I was looking for an actor for the role of Ivan for a long time – I needed a huge man. He was played by Maxim Kolesnichenko. In the process of working on the script, understanding who I needed, I myself looked for, agreed to work for free. This is my thesis at the Higher Courses for Scriptwriters and Directors. To everyone I addressed, I said something like this: “The producer is not located, there is no funding, but I really want to shoot. Looks like I’ll have to produce myself. Help me please. This is a thesis.” People responded well. I assembled a group of 35 people. Everyone worked for free. I found money for transport, gasoline, equipment, food, for all related things. When the filming process began, local residents helped me. I have 150 of them in the credits.

– And all your countrymen?

– 150 people are my countrymen, farmers from neighboring villages. Dad helped me a lot. He is an engineer and came up with different designs, got materials, logs. We had difficult shootings – in the forest, in the rain. It took two months to build the scenery. Production designer Masha Akopova came with the team. I found ten people in neighboring villages, and they helped. There was a house in the forest, but in order to get to it, it was necessary to clean everything up, clean it up. We filmed around the clock. It was necessary to release the technique and the actress. After filming, Masha Boltneva herself got behind the wheel and went by car to St. Petersburg to shoot the series. We filmed sunsets and sunrises, day and night. In the first three days we had three cameras, then two, so that the process was non-stop.

– You’re also an actress.

– I studied acting at MIKTIR, I entered there in a peculiar way. Perhaps the dream was too strong, and I broke through. You had to show yourself to be accepted. I even made a wheel. Now I have decreased by 38 kg, and I was fat, but I sat on the twine. That is, there was a dissonance with the image and possibilities.

– Actors are ready to shoot for free for a good role, but what attracts the rest?

– Three points, I think, worked. There are people who are ready to participate in the filming of a feature film for the sake of a portfolio. Some people care about mutual assistance. The operator called another operator, his friend. I called another operator friend. People do something for themselves, and we will help them – such logic. Some work for free for experience. It’s one thing to shoot in Moscow in a pavilion or on the street, and quite another thing – on an expedition. We lived in the forest, the temperature dropped to plus three degrees. It was cold. It rained. It was a serious test.

– All this happened in the Voronezh region, where do you live?

– We filmed mainly in the Ostrogorsky district on the Rodniki farm and in the Repevsky district on the Red Plowman farm. My dad lives in Rodniki. My childhood passed here. I was born in the Repyevsky district in the village of Platava, but I spent all weekends and summer holidays with my grandparents. Now my dad has moved here.

– Why did you invite Maria Boltneva to the main role?

– I wrote a list of ten actresses. By type, this is my maternal grandmother Alexandra. In the script, I also called her Alexandra. I had an image of a granny in my younger years in my head – modest, slender, thin. She loves everyone. My grandmother saved everyone, helped everyone, yielded, she was soft, but strong at heart. Farm women are just like that – outwardly soft, but they have a core. Masha Boltneva was the first on my list. I decided to take turns auditioning, depending on who agreed. The first-tier actresses to whom I sent the script responded very well. I asked them to film for free, I said that there was no funding, that I understood how much they were in demand. I liked that they all answered and were ready to read the script. I am amazed by their responsiveness and openness. To Masha Boltneva I went to performances, but still decided to make an audition. With my assistant Kostya Melnikov, we took the camera and went to her to the Theater. Mayakovsky (Maria’s father also worked there – actor Andrei Boltnev – S.Kh.). Did a test. Masha immediately did everything so accurately that I thought, why else would I have to audition with other artists, if this is what I need. The only thing I did was to try it in tandem with an actor. It was important to see how the acting ensemble would develop. They coincided with Maxim Kolesnichenko. My plans came true before my eyes.

– Now you live on a farm. What do you do?

– While I was studying at the Higher Courses, I lived in Moscow. It was also daytime training from morning to 19 hours and six days a week. During this time I shot 33 works. Vladimir Ivanovich Khotinenko has this way of learning in his studio. Each directorial technique needs to be embodied in a short film. We wrote a mini-script for each work. Therefore, it was necessary to stay in Moscow all the time. When I recruited a team for the film, I also lived there, rented an apartment. And now I’m recording videos, sound. I do everything online. They also say that I am a good editor. Filmed clips, edited them myself. This is what I do. I have a dream to return to Moscow.