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«I Invite you to My Execution», a film by Nino Kirtadze (2019).
In English (with some French and Russian). 58 minutes.
“This summer I committed the greatest crime a Soviet writer could commit. According to Soviet rules here, publication of a book abroad before it comes out in the Soviet Union is an illegal act of which I would severely be punished. I don’t know how.” Boris Pasternak was fully aware of the consequences of smuggling abroad multiple copies of the manuscript of his novel “Doctor Zhivago” and yet he did everything he could to let the world know of his novel, which could not be published in the Soviet Union.
“Doctor Zhivago” was first published in 1957 in an Italian translation; translations into other European languages followed, as well as a publication in Russian and in 1958 its author was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. In October 1958 Pasternak sent a telegram to the Swedish Academy: “Infinitely grateful, touched, proud, surprised, overwhelmed.” However, the award enraged the Soviet rulers and the persecution campaign against Pasternak which started in the Soviet Union made him refuse this great honour and ultimately cost him his life.
Using archive documents, interviews and Pasternak’s own notes and letters, Nino Kirtadze’s film reconstructs the dramatic story of a writer sacrificing his life for the sake of his book.
The film was produced by Zadig production and ARTE and released on October 30, 2019. It contains interviews with Elena Vladimirovna Pasternak, Paolo Mancosu, Jacqueline de Proyart (1927-2019), Carlo Feltrinelli, Elena Leonidovna Pasternak, Georges Nivat and others.
This is a Pushkin Club event and all are welcome.
European Film Academy-award-winning director Nino Kirtadze was born in Tbilisi, Georgia. She holds a degree in Literature. She is one of the few Georgian directors who made her cinematic debut in France and quickly established herself as one of the leading documentary filmmakers in Europe. Her films deal with difficult and controversial subjects, placing the accent on the human drama and creating deep insightful human portraits.
Kirtadze’s films have won international acclaim and numerous prestigious awards at festivals worldwide. The highlights include Best Director Prize at Sundance for « Durakovo-village of fools », the European Film Academy award and Visions du Réel Grand Prize for “Pipeline next door”, Germany’s top documentary award, the Adolf Grimme Gold, for “Chechen Lullaby” and the Cinema du Réel award for “Tell my friends that I’m dead”. Her film « Don’t breathe » which extends the borders of documentary and places this dark comedy on the edge of documentary and fiction was premiered in Toronto IFF. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of4s6CN3KrU
Nino Kirtadze is also a scriptwriter and actress. Her acting career started by the lead role in a “Chef in love”, a film by Nana Djordjadze, which was presented in Cannes and got nominated for an Oscar. Nino Kirtadze has worked with Peter Brook, Vittorio Gassman, Philippe Monnier, Jean-Pierre Ameris, Claude Goretta, Jacques Perrin, Olivier Langlois. In the past, during the troubled years in the Caucasus in 1990s she worked as a war correspondent for the AFP and for the AP, covering the war in Chechnya and other armed conflicts in the region.
Since 1997, Nino Kirtadze has lived in France. She is a member of European Film Academy, Member of SCAM France’s directors and authors Society and since 2019 she is also the Georgian representative in Eurimages, the cultural support fund of the Council of Europe.
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