Author: copernicusfilms

Kandinsky and the Russian House

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Watch “Kandinsky and the Russian House” by Michael Craig and Copernicus Films
Kandinsky and the Russian House is the 6th in a series of documentary films about the Russian Avant-garde. This film is about Kandinsky and his pioneering work in abstract art at the beginning of the century in Russia and in Germany. Using archive footage and locations in Munich and Moscow this film follows Kandinsky’s development of abstract art. The film is available on DVD. For more information.
The Russian House was the name given to the cottage in Murnau in Bavaria – Southern Germany  by the local towns people. Here Kandinsky and his partner Gabrielle Munter lived worked and painted. Various painters and artists visited Kandinsky here and it became the focus for what later became the Blue Rider Group of artists in Munich.
Click on the arrow below to watch the film.
https://player.dynamoplayer.com/player//playerx.swf?pid=P132e34e6a7218c640132e34e&vid=X

Day and Night in Chekhov Country

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The early evening and night in the Russian countryside is a unique phenomenon. Mute in its stillness but full of sound and movement as if the earth itself has come alive. Humming and buzzing with  life. A myriad of creatures, birds and insects live out their fate and the forest stirs with unseen movement. It is the time when the emotions become attuned to the world and it seems we hear the fullness of its shifting chords and languid phrases. It is the time which Chekhov often chose in his plays to reveal the heightened awareness of the characters, where they re experience life’s betrayals and traumas as the intensity of the night encloses around the already enclosed world of the dacha.
Anyway that’s enough lyricism for one blog – on with the work. I work all day now, writing and sifting through the material for the films. I work better in the open air and even better when it rains for some reason. The long days give ample opportunity for prolonged activity and for thinking through ideas. Step by step the plans are beginning to take shape, gradually gaining coherence as well substance. Early days still but good progress.

Report on the start of a new film project series from Chekov Country

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These are the first steps of a new project. We have come out to the Russian Country side to start preparations in what could be called Chekhov Country or Russian Dacha country. Its a fitting location to start these projects which are about Russian Theatre in the late 19th and early twentieth century. The films will consist of two documentaries. One about  Vahktangov and one about the role of carnival in Russian theatre of this period. Plus a feature type adaptation of Bloks play The Fairground Booth. For the next two or three weeks while We are here I will be writing and researching these projects and documenting them here in this blog and elsewhere. These films will follow on from the two films already completed about Russian Theatre “Meyerhold Theatre and the Russian Avant-garde” and “Stanislavsky and the Russian Theatre” to make up a series of films about the topic of Russian theatre of the early twentieth century. Using footage I will shoot out here I will try and give a flavour of life in the Russian countryside as well as documenting the start of this project.

"Stanislavsky and the Russian Theatre" – Internet Distribution

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The release of “Stanislavsky and the Russian Theatre” is now a few months in the past and the process of distribution is now becoming more actual. There are a number of posibilities on the horizon but as yet its too early to talk about them until there is some kind of concrete proposal or development. For the time being there are two distribution outlets which are working quite well. The first is Amazon which most people know about. Here theDVD can be purchased or the film downloaded or rented.  However the second is a new internet platform for film makers –Dynamo Player. It allows users to sell their film on the internet for a limited period of time for competitive rates. It also allows the film maker to add any amount of additional material associated with the film, for instance interviews background footage etc. which can add value to the original film and give the project a wider perspective. The player itself can be embedded on any web page or blog so feel free. There is now a dedicated web page for the Stanislavsky film where the extended interviews with Jean Benedetti (Honory Patron of The Stanislavski Centre) and Anatoly Smeliansky (Dean of the Moscow Art Theatre School). Here is the link: http://copernicusfilms.narod.ru/dynamostan1.html  or click on the player below:

Click on the “playlist” to see all the options.

https://player.dynamoplayer.com/player//playerx.swf?pid=P1d1a64de62e9b6ad83d1a64d&vid=X

Plans are afoot for new projects and announcements will be made towards the end of the summer when the details are a bit more worked out.

Work on "Ogasawara" book close to completion

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Last few days quite subdued while taking stock and trying to develop ideas for new projects. A few days working on the last pieces of the book “Journey to Ogasawara” which is gradually taking shape and will be ready to be published as an e-book at first and then as a paperback as well. Am editing footage which was shot on Ogasawara as part of the film “David Burliuk and the Japanese Avant-garde” but which wasn’t included in the film itself. Quite a lot of material as it turns out. I am editing the farewell send off which is part of the island’s tradition, a mixture of Japanese and it would seem Polynesian traditions. I need to add a few graphics and pictures and the e-book will be ready for publication.
Summer in Moscow is a quiet affair with many people leaving at weekends for their dachas so that their is a sensation of Moscow being emptied which on the one hand is a pleasant alternative to the usual frenzied pace which is a character of the city. However it is an eerie sensation all the same. Did some filming on the flip camera around the location for film on which I worked some years ago across the road from the Library of Foreign Literature not far from Taganka. Walked back from there to Kitae Gorod and back home on the metro.

Dosteovsky and a sunny Moscow day

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Last few days have been about development of new projects or at any rate thinking about this subject. That’s not strictly true as some work has been going on.

Its a sunny day in Moscow and not much work is getting completed. Too many interruptions what with air conditioners breaking down and other trivia which has interrupted the work flow of the day.

Also reading Bakhtins book “The Poetics of Dostoevsky”. Illuminates many elements of Dostoevsky’s aesthetics with some surprising conclusions. Its remarkable how innovative Dostoevsky was despite the limitations and specific characteristics of his work. I have been reading Dostoevsky since I was fourteen years old and only now do I begin to really understand what a great author he was and what a departure his work was from Gogol and Tolstoy. Utterly different. Strange to talk about this author who explores some of the darker recesses of humanity on such a sunny bright day in Moscow.

Return to Moscow

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A long time has passed, or so it seems, since completing the film “Stanislavsky and the Russian Theatre” and a process of reflection has replaced the frenetic rush to finish the film in time for the premiere and get it released at roughly the same time. The premiere has been documented elsewhere and there is even a few clips which can be seen on YouTube. The film itself can be watched also on YouTube.

From the premiere of “Stanislavsky and the Russian Theatre”

What kind of character this reflection is taking will become apparent with time. Having relaxed in the UK for a few weeks, coming back to the energetic pace of Moscow is always disorientating but certain elements are beginning to take shape. One thing that becomes clear is how out of control the process is despite the fact that you think you are controlling all the elements and progress. Its only after getting my head out of the editing process that the true significance of the film can be seen. Its too early as yet  to make any confident conclusions or pronouncements. The most important thing for now is promoting the film. That is paramount at the moment and it requires a great deal of work and attention. In that sense many of the discussions which are taking place over the internet and elsewhere by such people as John Reiss , Ted Hope, Chris Jones and by independent film makers such as Oklahoma Ward and David Baker as well as many others are very apt. The divison between marketing your film and making a film in  the new environment for independent film makers, is a fine line, if it exists at all.

One thing that can be said in this process is the effect that Moscow has on my work. Moscow can be a difficult place to live and work in. The noise, the climate, the traffic and the general lifestyle all combine to create obstacles and barriers etc. However for me and I know I have said this before, there is a specific energy or atmosphere which exists here and maybe in Russia generally which is creatively stimulating and galvanising.

Tomorrow I will be off to the Moscow State Duma to a friends Photo exhibition which is opening there tomorrow. More about that later.

Release of DVD “Stanislavsky and the Russian Theatre”

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Finally, after much tweaking and adjusting, the documentary film  “Stanislavsky and the Russian Theatre” has been released on DVD after a successful launch and premiere at the Barn Theatre of the Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performence. The premiere took place a few weeks ago but I will be posting information about the premiere and the film a little later. The film is available in both NTSC and PAL formats. Check your countrys’ broadcasting standard system and formats to see which is the correct one for your country.

Stanislavsky Film and Thinking Distribution

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Getting closer to finishing film “Stanislavsky and the Russian Theatre”. No major adjustments required but all the same a lot of work straightening out minor details and mistakes. All my time has been taken up with these tasks so I have had my head buried in the film, leaving no room for anything else. I showed a more or less complete version to Paul Fryer and Andrew Eglinton at The Stanislavski Centre. They have made some suggestions about marketing the film and pushing it and there are preliminary discussions about a showing of the film which would in effect be a premiere. They are looking into the possibilities of venues. Moscow is once again blanketed in snow after we thought that we had seen the end of it and spring had started.

In many ways I feel I am holding back until the film is absolutely ready before launching into marketing and promotion and articles about the film. I have a lot to say but I need to say it first in the film. Then we will see what happens. There is much talk these days of marketing your film and thinking about distribution and promotion well before the film goes into production and during the production. People like John Reiss, Ted Hope and Chris Jones and many others have been emphasising the need for this stage.

John Reiss proposes a special new post on a film specifically devoted to distribution and Internet marketing as part of the film production process. In many ways I am in complete agreement with them. However I still believe the film is the thing.  That is not to say that I have not been actively engaged in this sphere. With this film I have teamed up with The Stanislavski Centre, which holds the biggest Stanislavsky archive in Europe, outside Russia and they have many connections and outlets in the world of theatre.  I have a site devoted to Stanislavsky and theatre which is intended to be resource for the film to stimulate and promote interest.

However I agree with Seth Godin if I understand him correctly, when he says that in the end you have to create something which can be marketed and you have to get down and do that no matter what. The question in the context of  a film is which bit drives the other. Does the marketing/promotion/audience gathering drive the film or does the film drive the marketing promotion/audience/gathering or is this a false dichotomy? As I said at the beginning there is a lot of things to say but the core is the film and I think that needs to be in focus all the time if you are trying to do all these things yourself simultaneously. Once the film  is released I might have more to say about these aspects.

One of the things I want to do when this film is over is finish the book I have written “Journey to Ogasawara”. The book is completed but just needs editing and put together for publication. All in all I have been thinking about writing more – trying to find more to time to write and dovetail it with the films I have been making.