Interview with the chairman of the Guild of Cinematographers of Odessa, the filmmaker Igor Shevchenko Odessa Daily - Igor, not so long ago you asked the city executive committee to hold a round table about the future of the long-suffering Odessa film studio, with the participation of all interested parties, but your proposal met a sharp official rebuff from the head of the Odessa branch of the Union of Cinematographers of Ukraine, the winner of the Lenin Komsomol Prize Yaroslav Lupia, why do you think? He is no longer interested in the fate of the film studio? Or does Lupia have personal accounts with you?.
- Firstly, the idea to hold a round table is not mine, such an idea was expressed by the head of the Department of Culture and Tourism of the City Executive Committee Tatiana Markova, and our Guild strongly supported this proposal. And it would not be right to invite representatives of the Odessa SKU to the roundtable in the first place, it would be incorrect from our side, and simply elementary impolitically, this would mean disrespecting their real merits before the cinema, and such merits of the Union undoubtedly always had. But to honor the round table with your presence, to enter into a discussion or not, everyone decides for himself. Who cares about the destiny of the film studio, he will come. As for the reaction of Yaroslav Lupia, it would probably be correct to address these issues to himself. In any case, I do not feel any personal dislike towards him, on the contrary, I am grateful for the support and assistance that he once gave me. But I will be frank - my concern for the fate of the film studio in some may outweigh this gratitude to my colleague.
Odessa Daily - And yet the reaction is strange, because Lupiy from the very beginning and for many years consistently opposed the illegal stocking of the studio, and suddenly, if you believe his interview on the site "Vikna-Odesa", suddenly such a sharp change of position to the diametrically opposite , how do you explain this?.
- I'm lost in conjecture. But usually any riddle is the simplest explanation. Very prosaic. And very often, unfortunately, also very mundane. However, this is also a question for Yaroslav Vasilyevich himself. Maybe he had a vision, or maybe sent him over the Sign. Or maybe he just decided to never again upset private shareholders with his consistent and irreconcilable stance. I do not know, and I will not guess. Another's soul - darkness.
Odessa Daily - Yaroslav Lupiy argues that "Almost dozens of different public organizations that identify themselves as cinematographers or their close associates have nothing to do with the professional creative Union of filmmakers, but take custody of his problems". Igor, tell me, how many Odessa public cinema organizations exist, and since when did you decide to solve the problems of the Union?.
- I do not know which "scores" Yaroslav Vasilievich recounted, because I know only two such organizations - our Guild, and the NGO "Let's Protect the Odessa Film Studio", headed by our colleague, by the way - a member of the NSCU, filmmaker Viktor Nozdryukhin-Zabolotny. As for the problems of the Union, our Guild has not yet been puzzled by such an unbearable burden for us, and even more so it was not caused to solve them. But if our comrades and colleagues from the Union ask us about this, of course, we will not hesitate to come to their aid, and take them "in tow". And of course, our Guild nowhere and no one addressed "on behalf" of the Union, we have our own name, and fortunately, nothing tarnished. Although attempts to denigrate us will undoubtedly follow us, we will see for ourselves - we have a very powerful opponent, the general director of the "1 + 1" channel group Alexander Tkachenko, who does not hide his plans to get a state stake in our film studio. And believe me, the sudden demarche of Lupia is only the first swallow, in the course can go and ordered articles, and knowingly false denunciations, and someone thrown "evidence", I would not be surprised - because at stake is an invaluable piece of coastal territory in the resort area.
Odessa Daily - Your opponent claims that "new organizations, groupings, various associations of people who once worked here. Including Igor Shevchenko, who was once a member of our Union, but he was expelled because of some ugly situation, Igor, if not secret, what was that "ugly situation"?.
- There is no secret here, I generally have nothing to hide or be ashamed of in life. The situation with my exception from the Union in 1996 really was, and extremely for NSCU ugly. The studio was then headed by a new director, a native of our collective Alexander Malygin. He did not like the Union because he did not rush to fulfill their whims and "commands". And then in the best traditions of the "scoop" from the Union, a flood of complaints and slanders to the Ministry of Culture with unreasonable demands immediately removed Malygin from his post. And I was not afraid to express my point of view in support of the director. And this was so disliked by the then leadership of the Union that I was first strictly warned, and then expelled from their amicable ranks "for disagreeing with the general line of the party and government". However, I did not long to grieve. There was no joy in love, but also separation - without sadness.
Odessa Daily - Lupiy stated that "He has in the Guild - former studio workers, administrators. Although the Guild has normal guys, quite worthy ". What would that mean? ? ?.
- Thank you, the Union of Cinematographers also has people whom I respect, to some - even with great respect. And to the purely human qualities, and to the level of professional skill, and to the scale of talent, and to the real merits. Yes, in our Guild, as in the Union itself, there are many former staff members of the studio. The fact is that the overwhelming majority of professional, professional filmmakers have long been behind the staff. But unlike the Union, we take into our ranks not only creative workers, but also administrators and technicians, workers of all specialties, because they are also cinematographers. They are professionals in their field. And they are also people whose interests need to be protected, even if Yaroslav Lupiy believes otherwise. I never understood this division into "white" and "black bone", "bohemia" and "servants". What would my colleagues-directors do, they stay on the set without microphones and illuminators. But there is one more thing, the main difference between our Guild of the Union. All of our members are active filmmakers who actually participate in the film process, but in the Union, for objective reasons, the filmmakers, with a few exceptions, have long been inactive. And it's understandable - our screen masters on average already over seventy, what kind of filmmaking here. Therefore, we want to save the film studio, we still have to work on it.
Odessa Daily - Lupiy declares that "We were on the way of coordinating positions, but after watching some programs I began to doubt what they are talking about? What rematch or change of leadership can we talk about? »And. "I do not know what kind of programs Lupy saw, but in those I saw, there was no question of any" revenge or change of leadership ". We are not going to "overthrow" Yaroslav Vasilyevich from his pedestal, we have our own independent organization. And who and how he manages the work of the Union is the business of the members of this Union. So, on our part, the situation of Yaroslav Lupia does not threaten anything, we do not "sit up". But the re-privatization of the illegally corporalized Odessa film studio, and its subsequent privatization in strict accordance with the Law, the creation of an open joint-stock company with the transfer of a portion of shares to the workforce, and perhaps the transfer of the state block of shares into the ownership of the city community - yes, this is our official position, about which the Guild openly declares at any level. And if at the same time the interests of her current private negligent owners suffer - so be it, let it serve them as a good lesson for the future.
Odessa Daily - What do you think about "The Union of Young Cinematographers-1", "Union of Young Cinematographers-2" appeared in parallel. Confusion has begun ».
- As far as I remember, my youth clone created the Union, I just do not know - why, apparently, then an uncontrolled mutation and multiplication by division began. This is always the case with irresponsible social experiments, and you will not find guilty in the resulting confusion. But here our Guild has nothing to do with it. Themselves, themselves, themselves. You love a honeycomb, love and chill!.
Odessa Daily - Igor, do you think that after the final privatization, the Union of Cinematographers can really put out of the San Donato mansion, just as the Odessa Union of Artists was recently evicted to the street?.
- I am sure that they will not only be able to do it, but they will also put up in vain. Why should a private owner breed antimony with an absolutely useless structure? Moreover, the building itself - an architectural monument - has long and desperately needed repair, and this is a good reason to ask the tenants to leave the premises. The building is on the balance of the studio, no one has ever transferred it to the SKU. And will not give, just now the state allows the Union to use it, while the studio - at least half state. And then - write, lost.
Odessa Daily - Another quote from Lupia's interview - "The film studio in the hands of specific people. It is necessary to organize this "round table" here, to invite them here, and not to go to the city council or to the regional council. How will they help? They will not be able to resolve this situation. The destiny of a film studio needs to be decided here, inside the enterprise and the creative union. This round table should be organized by the director of the film studio, the Ministry of Culture and the NSCU ".
- What can I say? If Yaroslav Lupia wants to decide the fate of the studio behind-the-scenes, it means that it's more convenient for him, for some reason. Or more familiar. Maybe he just likes to be a "wedding general" on someone else's feast. I do not know this. But we consider it wrong to hold such a "mezhdusoboychik". And this is never allowed, therefore we invite the Union of Journalists of Ukraine, and the "Anticorruption Rukh Odeschini", and the city authorities participate in this discussion. After all, the Odessa film studio, thank God, is not yet someone's private shop - it is the property of Odessa and all Ukraine.