Tarkovsky's teacher and mentor was Mikhail Romm, who taught many film students who would later become influential film directors. In 1956, Tarkovsky directed his first student short film, The Killers, from a short story of Ernest Hemingway. The longer television film There Will Be No Leave Today followed in 1959. Both films were a collaboration between the VGIK students. Classmate Aleksandr Gordon, who married Tarkovsky's sister, in particular directed, wrote, edited, and acted in the two films with Tarkovsky. In 1987, the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Language Film of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts for The Sacrifice. The negative space of such imprinted icons forced viewers actively to construct a positive exposure by visually caressing the tactile surface; St John of Damascus speaks of ‘embracing’ the icon ‘with eyes and lips’. 7 Tarkovsky studied film at Moscow's VGIK under filmmaker Mikhail Romm, and subsequently directed his first five features in the Soviet Union: Ivan's Childhood (1962), Andrei Rublev (1966), Solaris (1972), Mirror (1975), and Stalker (1979). A number of his films from this period are ranked among the best films ever made. After years of creative conflict with state film authorities, Tarkovsky left the country in 1979 and made his final two films abroad; Nostalghia (1983) and The Sacrifice (1986) were produced in Italy and Sweden respectively. In 1986, he also published a book about cinema and art entitled Sculpting in Time. He died later that year of cancer, a condition possibly caused by the toxic locations used in the filming of Stalker. [5] Auf der Suche nach der verlorenen Zeit (1988): Andrej Tarkowskijs Exil und Tod. Documentary directed by Ebbo Demant. Germany.

It is curious that Jameson contrasts Tarkovsky’s alleged mysticism to the cinema of Aleksandr Sokurov, whose verbose films, often with voiceover narration by the director, lend themselves far more readily to ideological reduction. In these vignettes from his personal world...we are left spellbound by a quiet and captivating insight into the world of a man who rendered dreams reality" International Tarkovsky Festival Dates Announced". News Unrolled. 29 June 2022 . Retrieved 7 September 2022. Tarkovsky’s first fully independent feature film Andrei Rublev (1966–9) told the story of Russia’s greatest icon-painter, a fifteenth-century monk who had recently been conscripted to serve in the atheistic but fervently nationalistic Soviet Union as Russia’s first great artist. It might seem that, by photographing the icon, Tarkovsky was seeking to redeem cinema projection by inscribing it into the history of the sacred image.

This life-long effort culminated in Marker’s CD-ROM Immemory, which is divided into Tarkovskian ‘zones’ navigated by the computer operator ‘without pretexts or rationales’. 25 Streamlining Plot: This involves focusing on essential plot points that drive the story forward. Subplots that don't contribute to the central narrative or theme are often minimized or eliminated.

Never try to convey your idea to the audience,” said Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky, “—it is a thankless and senseless task. Show them life, and they’ll find within themselves the means to assess and appreciate it.”See Susan Sontag, On Photography (New York n.d.); Jean-Louis Baudry, ‘The Apparatus: Metapsychological Approaches to the Impression of Reality in the Cinema’, in Narrative, Apparatus, Ideology, Philip Rosen, ed., New York 1986. In 1977, on my wedding ceremony in Moscow, Tarkovsky appeared with a Polaroid camera,” Italian poet, writer and screenwriter Antonio ‘Tonino’ Guerra, once said. “He had just shortly discovered this instrument and used it with great pleasure among us. Tarkovsky thought a lot about the ‘flight’ of time and wanted to do only one thing: to stop it — even if only for a moment, on the pictures of the Polaroid camera,” he continued. Tarkovsky is best known for such cinematic masterpieces as Solaris, The Mirror, Andrei Rublev, and Stalker. Tarkovksy’s vision was unique as a filmmaker; he favored long takes and leisurely scenes that explored the beauty and mystery of everyday life. The 14th Zerkalo International Film Festival Has Closed". Zerkalo. 30 June 2020 . Retrieved 7 September 2022. a b "Marina Tarkovskaya: "My brother enjoyed being a descendant of the Dagestanian princes" ". interview to the Gordon Boulevard newspaper at the Andrei Tarkovsky media archive, 2007 (in Russian)

The Armenian filmmaker Sergei Parajanov remarked that watching Tarkovsky's film, Ivan's Childhood was his main inspiration to become a filmmaker by saying: "I did not know how to do anything and I would not have done anything if there had not been Ivan's Childhood". [63] Lasica, Tom (March 1993). "Tarkovsky's Choice". Sight and Sound. 3 (3). Archived from the original on 6 July 2009 . Retrieved 25 December 2007. Chris Marker, ‘Commentaire pour Une journée d’Andrei Arsenevitch’, Positif, number 48, March 2001 p.52. The James Cameron action film that Andrei Tarkovsky loved". faroutmagazine.co.uk. 17 July 2021 . Retrieved 27 September 2023.

The Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieślowski commented that: "Andrei Tarkovsky was one of the greatest directors of recent years," [62] and regarded Tarkovsky's film Ivan's Childhood as an influence on his own work. [63]

Tarkovsky was, according to fellow student Shavkat Abdusalmov, fascinated by Japanese films. He was amazed by how every character on the screen is exceptional and how everyday events such as a Samurai cutting bread with his sword are elevated to something special and put into the limelight. [29] Tarkovsky has also expressed interest in the art of Haiku and its ability to create "images in such a way that they mean nothing beyond themselves". [30] After his last feature film, The Sacrificewas released in 1986and he had published a book on cinema and art entitled Sculpting in Time, Tarkovsky died of cancer later that year, possibly caused by the toxic filming locations of Stalker. Rushdie, Salman. Step Across This Line: Collected Nonfiction 1992–2002. New York: Random House, 2002, p. 335. As with Tarkovsky, his wife Larisa and actor Anatoly Solonitsyn all died from the very same type of lung cancer. Vladimir Sharun, sound designer on Stalker, is convinced that they were all poisoned by the chemical plant where they were shooting the film. [5] Influences and thoughts on film [ edit ] Tarkovsky's first feature film was Ivan's Childhood in 1962. He had inherited the film from director Eduard Abalov, who had to abort the project. The film earned Tarkovsky international acclaim and won the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival in the year 1962. In the same year, on 30 September, his first son Arseny (called Senka in Tarkovsky's diaries) Tarkovsky was born.Peter Rollberg (2009). Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema. US: Rowman & Littlefield. pp.685–690. ISBN 978-0-8108-6072-8. de Brantes, Charles (20 June 1986). "La foi est la seule chose qui puisse sauver l'homme". La France Catholique (in French). Archived from the original on 4 August 2008 . Retrieved 14 January 2008. Donato Totaro. "An Interview with Andrzej Zulawski and Daniel Bird". OffScreen . Retrieved 15 September 2022. The Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman was quoted as saying: "Tarkovsky for me is the greatest [of us all], the one who invented a new language, true to the nature of film, as it captures life as a reflection, life as a dream". [61] Danish film director Lars von Trier is a fervent admirer of Tarkovsky. He dedicated his 2009 film Antichrist to him, and, while discussing it with critic David Jenkins, asked: "Have you seen Mirror? I was hypnotised! I've seen it 20 times. It's the closest thing I've got to a religion – to me he is a god". [79] Film festival [ edit ]