In the Russian cultural environment, they did not understand the refusal of Mikhalkov from the “Oscar”

In the morning, a scandal has been developing around Russia’s refusal to participate in the nomination of films for the Oscar. Nikita Mikhalkov announced this without informing even the chairman of the Russian Oscar committee, film director Pavel Chukhrai. “MK” spoke with Sergei Astakhov – the cameraman of the films “In love of his own free will”, “Brother” and “Brother 2”, “About freaks and people”, “War”, “It doesn’t hurt me”, “Anna Karenina” by Sergei Solovyov, “Salyut 7” by Klim Shipenko, “Hearts of Parma” by Anton Megerdichev, which was included in the Russian Oscar long list for 2022. At that moment, Sergey Valentinovich was in Anapa at the Kinoshock festival, where he works as a member of the jury and evaluates full-length competition films.

– What do you think about the unusual precedent?

– I can imagine what a surprise it was for Pavel Chukhrai. I think that we should participate in the nomination for the Oscars, because art is, to some extent, outside of politics. I am far from all this, I do not know the mechanisms for nomination, who has the right and who does not have the right to decide something. But if he speaks globally, then the films were not created at the time of the special operation or some other events, why not take part in them, especially if the Americans do not mind.

– Now there are 122 films on the long list, including “Heart of Parma”.

– That is all content. Probably, from this list you can choose something worthy to represent Russia. And how the Americans will judge is not for us to judge. This is not our holiday. Why make one more sanction or counter-sanction out of all this? No one, as I understand it, imposed sanctions on us submitting our films to the Oscars. This is another kind of confrontation.

– “A diamond Oscar from Mikhalkov and the current refusal are, for sure, interconnected things.

– It’s hard for me to judge things happening upstairs. I am a sluggish member of the Union of Cinematographers, an ordinary hard worker and far from all this. I just work. This is the only thing that takes all my little strength. I lack the energy and desire to engage in social activities. Much of what is happening does not fit in my not very big brain. I know that I have a lot to lose as a worker on the cinema front. Paintings are stopped and closed for various reasons. Everything that is happening so far is not good for the cinema. Now I’m just surviving. For me, a pensioner receiving 15,000 pensions, it is very important to work. But I don’t have this opportunity. Perhaps what we are talking about is one of the ways to speed up the process of creating the Eurasian Oscar. It’s so incomprehensible and disgusting to me. There are things more serious and important for the cinema to live. It doesn’t work for the health of the cinema at all. With the Americans to measure bumpers about the movie – the task is not the most rewarding.

– Don’t you work? From the outside it seems that you are constantly in the process of filming.

– It’s from the side. Of course, the brain does not stop. What am I filming? I’m on the jury here and I don’t get paid for it. I don’t have any picture for which I would receive money. I now earn my bread not figuratively, but in the truest sense of the word. I’m talking about survival, the monetary equivalent that allows you to buy bread every day, pay for electricity, water and heat. Of course, the brain does not stop. As a creative person, I am not idle. Besides, he did enough to be satisfied. In this case, it’s all about survival. In principle, it is possible to rant about the Oscar committee, but for me this is not the most important thing now.

– For young and ambitious directors who still want to achieve something, this is probably essential.

– According to my concepts, we should strive for maximum contacts. This period was, and I know its fruitfulness. It’s stupid to deny it. It is very important to be friends with everyone. It’s always easier to quarrel, ruin relationships. You say that Mikhalkov decided to establish the Eurasian Oscar. On the one hand – more premium. The more festivals and communication, the better. But in this situation, we do not understand everything, we are in a chaotic process. From a thematic point of view, the films that we shoot also require reflection. The repertoire is a bit skewed. You can talk a lot about this, but in this case it’s not very pleasant for me to do this, because at my almost 70 years old (Sergey Astakhov – 68 years old – S.Kh.) I just make money for a piece of bread.

– Did the films you worked on in different years participate in the Oscar nomination, at least at the initial stage?

– Not! Apparently, my colleagues and I are not worthy of this. I’m just one of those who made them, not the main one, not the one who determines the value of the picture. Who will put forward “About freaks and people”, although this is a very good work, both Balabanov’s and mine? But she probably did not deserve attention, according to those who nominated films for the Oscars. It’s OK.

– Against the background of what we have now, this is a masterpiece, and not only against this background.

– But all this is near-cinema things for me. I have been doing my job for more than forty years and I am happy about it. Another question is that my efficiency has now dropped sharply. Of course, I won’t shoot what I don’t like. Thank God, I still have hands, I can still come up with some new mechanisms that allow me to shoot something in a new way.