Andrei Nekrasov

Andrei Nekrasov 2007

Andrei Lvovich Nekrasov (Russian: Андре́й Льво́вич Некра́сов; born 1958) is a Russian film and TV director from Saint Petersburg.

Andrei Nekrasov studied acting and directing at the State Institute for Theater and Film in his native Saint Petersburg. He studied comparative literature and philosophy at the University of Paris, taking a master's degree, and film at Bristol University Film School. In 1985, he assisted Andrei Tarkovsky during the filming and editing of The Sacrifice. Nekrasov then made several internationally coproduced documentaries and TV arts programs (notably A Russia of One's Own, Pasternak, The Prodigal Son, and Children's Stories: Chechnya). His first drama short, Springing Lenin (1993) won the UNESCO prize at the Cannes Film Festival that year, and in 1997 his first feature, Love Is As Strong as Death won the FIPRESCI prize at Mannheim-Heidelberg. The director’s second feature, Lubov and Other Nightmares (2001) won recognition at a great many of festivals all over the world (including Sundance and Berlin) and confirmed his status as a rebel among Russian filmmakers. In 1990 he married the actress Olga Konskaya (1964–2009).^[1]

Andrei Nekrasov is also a playwright and a theater director. His German productions (of his own plays) include: Der Spieler (The Gambler) in Euro Theater Central in Bonn and Koenigsberg in the Volksbuehne Theatre in Berlin.

Nekrasov's 2007 film, Rebellion: the Litvinenko Case presents interviews with assassinated former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko and journalist Anna Politkovskaya.^[2] The movie contends that Russian state security service FSB, the successor agency to the KGB, organized bombings of apartments in Moscow and taking hostages in a Moscow theater to justify the second war in Chechnya and bring Vladimir Putin to power.

His films include the documentary Disbelief (Недоверие) on the 1999 Russian apartment bombings. This film is available in DVD as an extra to Rebellion: The Litvinenko Case, but a low resolution version is available on Google Video.

Nekrasov's last film, Lessons of Russian, produced by his wife Olga Konskaya and Norwegian Producer Torstein Grude deals with the Russian-Georgian war of 2008. It documents a journey by two directors-protagonists, Olga Konskaya and Andrei Nekrasov, one on each side of the frontline during the hostilities. For this documentary, Nekrasov was named The Person of 2009 in the Georgian Public Broadcasting's internet survey.^[3]

Filmography

• 2010 Russian Lessons, 100 min, Documentary.^[4]
• 2007 Rebellion: the Litvinenko Case, 113 min, Documentary, Premiere: Festival de Cannes 2007
• 2007 My Friend Sasha: A Very Russian Murder, 60 min TV documentary on Alexander Litvinenko (BBC Four Storyville, 22 January 2007)^[5]
• 2004 Disbelief, Feature documentary, 35 mm, 105 min, Dolby SRD, Dreamscanner Prod. Russia-USA (Watch Free on Google Video)
• 2002 Koenigsberg, Docudrama, HDCam, 120 min, Color and B/W, Dreamscanner, Russia-Germany
• 2001 Lubov and Other Nightmares, Feature, 35 mm, 97 min, Color and B/W, Dolby SR, Dreamscanner, Russia-Germany
• 2000 Children’s Stories, Chechnya, documentary , Beta SP, 23 min, Vanessa Redgrave and Dreamscanner, UK-Russia
• 1997 Love is as strong as Death, Feature, 35 mm, 104 min, Dreamscanner, Russia-UK
• 1993 Springing Lenin, 35 mm, 23 min, Colour, British Film Institute - BBC
• 1991 The Prodigal Son, TV, 16 mm, 95min, Colour, BBC-La Sept-ZDF, UK-France-Germany
• 1990 Pasternak, TV, 35 mm, 90 min, Colour, ITV-WDR, UK-Germany-Russia
• 1989 Raising the Curtain, TV, documentary, 25 min, Channel 4
• 1988 The Millennium of Incredible Faith, TV, documentary, 16 mm, 60 min, Amaranthos, Greek TV
• 1987 A Russia of One's Own, TV, 16 mm, 85 min, Colour, Channel 4

Festivals

• Cannes 1993
• Sundance Film festival 2002, 2004
• Berlin 2001
• Sao Paolo 1997, 2001
• Rotterdam 2001
• Mannheim-Heidelberg 1997
• Karlovy Vary 2001
• Moscow IFF 2001
• Trömso 1997
• Göteborg 1997
• Cape Town 1998
• Ankara International Film Fest 2001
• Raindance, London 2002
• Independent Film Festival of Barcelona, 2001
• Outfest Film Festival, Los Angeles 2002
• (among others)

Prizes and awards

• CANNES Film Festival UNESCO Prize 1993 (Springing Lenin, 1993)
• FIPRESCI Prize, Mannheim-Heidelberg Film Festival 1997 (Love is as strong as Death, 1997) 'For the sharp moral and social perspective and the strong, expressive visual language which characterise the film’s view of contemporary reality.'
• Channel 4’s sole nomination for the Prix Italia (A Russia of One's Own, 1987)
• SPECIAL JURY PRIZE Kinotavr, Russian International Film Festival 1997 (Love is as strong as Death)
• SPECIAL JURY PRIZE Moscow Russian Film Festival 2001 (Lubov and Other Nightmares, 2001) "for the innovative film language".
• BEST LEAD (female) AWARD Kinotavr, Russian International Film Festival 2001 (Lubov and Other Nightmares)
• Nomination for Golden Aries – all Russian film critics prize (Lubov and Other Nightmares, 2001)
• SPECIAL MENTION by the Amnesty Jury, Cph:dox, Copenhagen, 2004 (Disbelief, 2004)
• THE BEST DOCUMENTARY AWARD, Karachi International Film festival, 2005 (Disbelief, 2004)

References

1. ^ "Конская Ольга Владимировна" (in Russian). kino-teatr.ru. http://www.kino-teatr.ru/kino/producer/8853/bio/. Retrieved 2010-10-03. 
2. ^ Litvinenko `Rebellion' Poses Awkward Questions Cannes Roundup – Iain Millar, Bloomberg, 27 May 2007. Retrieved on 2007-05-27.
3. ^ Andrei Nekrasov Leading in Survey 'Person of 2009'. The Georgian Times. December 31, 2009
4. ^ Russian Lessons at the Internet Movie Database
5. ^ Storyville series editor on the film.Retrieved on 2007-07-29.

External links

• Russian Lessons (official website)
• Disbelief (official website)
• Andrei Nekrasov at the Internet Movie Database
• Dreamscanner Productions
• Nekrasov's letter from the bedside of his poisoned friend Alexander Litvinenko
• Political prisoners are Russia's real elite Nekrasov's article.

Media

• Rebellion: The Litvinenko Case on Youtube: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
• Disbelief (Недоверие) on Google Video (in English and in Russian)
• Lessons of Russian. Also on Youtube: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Persondata
Name	Nekrasov, Andrei
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death