The fingers stiffen in the cold. The cold pierces to the bone. She has to shove his hands in his pockets.
Is 31-degree cold, in Yakutia, Republic of Sakha, quite a bit. However, to stand motionless for a quarter of an hour without a hat and gloves hard.
Fortunately, hanging in the air for shooting the helicopter. Last time there was no clarity, but then frost reached 36 degrees.
The most difficult is probably the film Director, 33-year-old Stepan Burnashova, which lies on the snow with bare feet, painted in the color of blood.
Removed the last episode Burnashova about zombies. It angry zombies freeze, and the heroes of the film out of his hiding place in the bear’s den.
“Thank you, Land of Sakha, froze them!” — loudly says the actor.
When the episode filmed, the operator offers to drink vodka to keep warm. He dilutes it, put it in your mouth a handful of snow. One of the actors went a little overboard with a warming drink and can no longer stand on his feet, floundering in the snow.
Burnashev and his film about the zombie part of the Yakut cinematic wonder “Shaved”.
In Yakutia, home to almost one million people, of which slightly more than half speak the Yakut language belonging to the Turkic language family. The level of development of the cultural life of the Yakuts can be compared to approximately the same number of the group of Finnish Swedes. There are Yakutian pop music, pop music and folk music in the Republic there is a strong theatrical tradition. System of higher education in the Yakut language there, but in cinema, they’ve succeeded: every year there are dozens of feature films in the Yakut.
In cinemas of the capital of Yakutsk the most successful paintings of the Studio “Shaved” scroll for weeks and popular among the locals bypass the Hollywood movies. Then they go to ulus, is located on the territory of the Republic, which in its area is almost equal to India. Here there are 18 cinemas. Every tenth inhabitant of Yakutia watching movies.
Movie in Sakha is a national matter. When, for example, in the village Textur with a population of about a thousand people in winter opened kinomasterskoy, the school gym, put on it, was full of people, and fifty women were asked professional questions about software installation.
The focus of the Yakut cinema is the audience. Themes and characters of Russian films seem alien and unnatural. In cinemas I want to see familiar faces and scenery and hear the native language.
“Yakut cinema examines topics that concern local residents. He talks about a viewer. We have no barrier between filmmaker and audience,” says MAKS Zakharov, huge young Yakut. He sometimes appears in the films in episodes of horse-riding and is the owner of Geek Cafe in Yakutsk, where the audience watching a movie, sitting on poufs.
Director Stepan Burnashev in the past weightlifter, who was fond of Amateur documentaries about hunting. He is a filmmaker, self-taught.
Even in elementary school he watched 600 movies and made their list. The teacher found this and showed it to the whole class as a dangerous example of the waste of time. Later Burnashev studied Economics and computer processing, but films are still fascinated him.
However, many workers “Shaved” still got the education. In Yakutsk you can get a degree in theater, and the brightest movie stars out of the celebrated Sakha academic theater.
Directors and operators are trained in the highest of cinematic educational institutions of St. Petersburg and Moscow, where the Yakuts are very appreciated. From their fellow students, they differ in that as the final work they shoot a feature film.
From Petersburg and Moscow, the majority returns to his cold and distant country, where livelihoods need to get different ways. Burnashev working in a cooperative Environment that brings together freelancers: Directors, cameramen, editors and graphics. Many of them earn money by shooting weddings, gaining 500 euros for one shot.
“Chaude” every little bit makes everything, and all help each other. The work comes spontaneously and, for example, the scenario can quickly change in accordance with the situation. Participants receive a salary — but probably only when the film is released.
All seven films, shot by Burnashova, represent different genres, because he wants to develop, trying himself in all areas. A large part of the Yakut films does not have a complicated twisted plot and movie is genre: domestic stories, Thriller, horror, romance and of course Comedy.
The choice of topics and method of displaying still strongly attached to the place. The military film “Sniper Sakha” tells about the fate of the Yakut sniper.
The main theme is the connection with nature and the fight against it. Released in 2015, the film “Nummular” (Lost) tells the true story, which is not unusual for Yakutia: two friends lost in the forest and for two months fought for his life. And the film “White day” talks about what actually happens when frosts minibus breaks down on a deserted road.
Half of Yakuts live in rural areas, but an active process of resettlement in Yakutsk. The film Valentina Stepanova “Pure feelings”, the plot of which develops in the urban environment, received a large box office last year.
Most often, the films play up the contrast of the towns and villages. The newly released film “Carol” tells the story of a rising star of the Yakut pop music Caroline, who is forced because of problems with school to go to practice in a small village where she falls in love with a blind teacher.
Most of the spectators gather Comedy. A hit last fall it was the Comedy “Hectare”, which deals with interesting topical issues. It tells of a rural resident, family hunting grounds which is trying to take away a businessman, not disdaining any means. To help rural guy comes to a surreal policeman, the sides of which become fish, falcons and beetles.
“Hectare” was a big commercial success: the cost of shooting in the amount of about ten thousand euros he collected ten times more profit. Budgets Yakut films in all respects ridiculous: the cheapest bands are removed for 10 thousand euros, the most expensive out of 100 thousand.
In Finland the film’s budget on average is 1.4 million euros. If in Finland the film per viewer costs about 25 euros, in the Republic of Sakha, the cost is one Euro or less.
For the most part, movies are shot at private expense. Their sponsors are not major Yakutian mines, gas and oil companies, and small businesses — hardware stores, gyms, ice cream shops and gas stations. Instead, they shamelessly advertise their wares. For example, a sponsor of the film Burnashova about zombies was a jewelry firm, and her rings sparkled on the fingers of the characters.
If necessary, take the money and rich relatives. “My film is based on the money of my relative, the income from it was divided in half,” says Director Michael Lukashevsky.
In Yakut films, notably the worship of nature, but it affects the shooting process. Before filming, the entire group gets the blessing, and after performed the purification ritual.
The role with bad karma sometimes impossible to find actors. “Once I agreed to play the role of a black shaman and a week later had an accident,” says actor Elijah Struchkov.
In this article, I wanted to tell about filming a new historical movie directed by Michael Lukashevskogo. The film was supposed to tell about the massacres in the Yakut villages, committed by the Bolsheviks in 1930-ies, but at the last moment the shooting had to be cancelled. The villagers refused to participate because he feared that memories of the tragedy will bring them misfortune.
When in the area, where he starred in another drama called “Fire in the wind”, the murder occurred, a local blamed the crew.
Although the Yakut cinematic miracle are independent authors, the authorities also put his hand to his success. For example, every year in August they organize the Yakut festival.
The importance of cinema realized the head of the Republic 90 years, Mikhail Nikolayev, who is considered almost a national hero in Yakutia. In 1992, he created the country’s own film Studio “Sakhafilm”.
A year ago the head of “Sakhafilm” was the 35-year-old Dmitry Shadrin, more familiar to the public as a comedian, including, who played the part talking to the insects of a policeman in the movie “a Hectare”. Under the leadership Shadrina Studio “Sakhafilm” was to provide support to independent filmmakers: a film crew use her equipment.
Fall Studio sakhafil’m beginning to hold events, for which it collects citizens to create scripts for movies.
“We got a lot of interesting ideas. Nice to see the enthusiasm of people when they feel they are virtually in the role of Director” — with a smile says Shadrin.
Its main task Shadrin considers “adaptation of classical works of the Yakut literature.” The biggest project of the Studio and throughout the country is the film “Tygyn Darkhan” of a great man and legendary Yakut commander of the XVII century.
Release now the film “Tygyn Darkhan” it will be the most expensive film in the history of Yakutia, because the official budget is 3.5 million euros. The scenery and costumes are made with a sense of reverence.
In the state of the Studio “Sakhafilm” four filmmaker.
Among them — recently graduated from VGIK 27-year-old. Grigorieva, the first film which tells of an orphaned peasant boy.
The film was shot in March in the village. Leading actor, a ten-year Igor gotovtseva, found at a local school. In the movie he walks with the Ghost of his father through the village and forests.
“I wanted to use the techniques of Tarkovsky’s work in the frame when the camera moves and approaches, and in the frame several events occur simultaneously. But I’m afraid that the Yakutian audience will not understand. This is purely a festival film.”
In accordance with the local traditions of the film is born quickly. Grigorieva script wrote itself at the beginning of the year. Installation was done within a couple of weeks in the evenings after a day on the set.
The film should be released in June.
“In Moscow I realized that we in the Republic of Sakha completely different Outlook. We are not in the flow of globalization”.
Directors-women in Yakutia a bit. According to Valentina Stepanova, the second novice Director, in the Yakut culture dominated by Eastern concepts, according to which man decides and the woman helps.
“With the crew hard work, when men begin to command, to teach or to do things his own way”.
However, as producers women succeed. Sardaana Savvina — one of the female producers, the main job which is teaching English at the University. Thanks to her, three of the Yakut film was shown this year at the Berlin film festival in a special program of Native, which is dedicated to the filmmaking of indigenous peoples.
But can-and want Yakut cinematographers to go out on the wide expanses of its permafrost?
Fall first genre film Studio “Shaved” called “My killer”, was released in the Russian hire. But mostly the Yakut films are not understandable to the viewer. In most movies there is not a single Russian actor.
The hope is movies. Last year at international festivals was a success with the movie “Fire in the wind”, which failed in the Yakut film market. It’s a tragic story about the consequences of alcoholism in the village. The Director is 34-year-old Dmitry Davidov, the Director of the school in a remote village.
For more serious success still requires a budget in excess of 10 thousand euros, and more universal themes.
“Russia is in isolation. We are isolated to an even greater extent, but strive to make the world hear about us,” says Director Michael Lukashevsky.
“Our national epos “Olonkho” like a movie, so we have to develop the film. Stories are born by themselves. The number of passes in quality” — he said.
