RUSSIA! The Drama of Art in Twelve Episodes (111 min.)
2007
Zaretskaya Nina
It is the most comprehensive and largest show of Russian art ever sent abroad. The exhibition featured more than 250 masterpieces of Russian art, from the twelfth century to the present, many of them traveled outside of Russia for the first time. Such an event is unlikely to happen again in the United States in our lifetime. Not a mere reportage, but rather a narrative of Russian cultural development, the film is broken down into 12 chapters each devoted to a specific period of Russia’s history. Each episode’s title refers to the characteristics and the prevailing art styles of the epoch it describes.
"Russia! The Drama of Art in Twelve Episodes" presents a fresh look at Russian culture, not only through the stark dichotomies of political and economic terms, but also by revealing the soul and the character of the Russian people, it will provide a more rounded picture of a very complex country.
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Selected Screenings
Russian American Cultural Center,
in collaboration with the Russian and Slavic Studies Program, Hunter College, CUNY
2014 Art Film Festival
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Ida K. Lang Recital Hall at Hunter College,
695 Park Ave, New York, NY 10065
   
5:00 PM
RUSSIA! The Drama of Art in Twelve Episodes by Nina Zaretskaya
From Press Release
Russia - USA | 2007 | 111 min | bilingual: Russian/ English with voice over translation.
The documentary is inspired by the exhibition "RUSSIA!" that took place at the Solomon R. Guggenheim museum in 2005 – 2006. That groundbreaking exhibition featured more than 275 of the greatest masterpieces of Russian Art, spanning the history from Thirteenth Century to the Present, large number of these artworks have never been exhibited outside Russia.
Introducing the international public to some of the most valued artistic treasures brought together from Russia’s greatest museums, this exhibition was unique in scope and content, in keeping with the Guggenheim’s distinguished history of presenting groundbreaking exhibitions of Russian art, including Art of the Avant-Garde in Russia: Selections from the George Costakis Collection (1981), The Great Utopia: The Russian and Soviet Avant-Garde, 1915–1932 (1992), Amazons of the Avant-Garde (2000), and Kazimir Malevich: Suprematism (2003).
The documentary presents a fresh look at Russian culture by revealing its history, the soul and the character of the Russian nation, helping viewers better understand the Russian people and their sensibilities through the amazing art they have managed to create over the centuries of their complex and difficult history.
Q & A with Nina Zaretskaya
www.russianamericanculture.com
   
RUSSIA! THE DRAMA of ART in 12 EPISODES (111 minutes)
2007
Screenwriter, director and producer Nina Zaretskaya
Press Release
Ministry of Culture and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation
Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography
Art Media Center "TV Gallery"
with the support of Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation
Press screening of the documentary
July 19, 2007 at 17:00
Collegium Hall
Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography
7 Gnezdnikovsky Lane, Moscow
This film is based on the materials of RUSSIA!, the most comprehensive exhibition of Russian art ever shown in the United States, presented at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museums in New York and the Guggenheim-Hermitage Museum in Las Vegas in 2005 and at the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum in 2006.
RUSSIA! exhibition has been realized under the patronage of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. The opening of the exhibition coincided with the start of the 60th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. High-ranking delegations from Russian Federation and the United States visited the exhibition. This footage was included in the film, for example, the speech of the Russian President Putin at the official opening ceremony.
This innovative exhibition featured more than 250 greatest masterworks of Russian art from all major Russian art museums.
This film highlights the importance of this event in the cultural and historical context. Only the detailed and expert analysis of the works of art created in different periods allows to perceive the connection between the stages of development of the Russian culture, therefore the outstanding art curators, art historians and critics from the United States and Russia were invited to participate in this documentary. Their talks are accompanied by rich content visual footage which includes fragments from movies, newsreel footage and filmed art masterpieces.
The event includes the charity action that will give you a chance to buy the DVD of the film. A portion of the proceeds from the DVD sale will be donated to the Lifeline Russian charity program that finances the heart surgery for severely ill children. This charity program has been in operation since 2004. The purpose of this national program for children up to 15 year old is to decrease the mortality from the grave heart and brain diseases that could be cured by high technology intervention. About 1,400 Russian children have been saved due to this program, and donations from individuals and organizations amounted to $7.5 million. But the program needs more help!
The site has been created with the assistance of the "Open Society Institute" (Soros Foundation). Russia
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