Education
DOCUMENTARY FILM BY SVETLANA ASTRETSOVA “THE MERCHANT OF ALL TIMES. VIRTUAL MUSEUM OF SERGEI DIAGHILEV”
Date: 30/11/2017
Venue: St Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Music
The documentary “The Merchant at All Times. The Virtual Museum of Sergei Diaghilev” will be presented within the framework of the International Conference “In the Diaghilev’s Circle. Phenomenon of Les Saisons Russes in the Context of European Culture” in the St Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Music.
Genre: Documentary
Written and directed by: Svetlana Astretsova
Producers: Ilmir Yusupov, Svetlana Astresova
Starring: Edvard Radzinsky, Nikolai Tsiskaridze, Alexandre Vasilyev
Cameras: Andrey Tarasenko, Alexander Brazhe
Film editors: Denis Masterov, Anastasia Dadan
Film company: The Cherry Orchard
Duration: 44 minutes
Country: Russia
“The Merchant at All Times. The Virtual Museum of Sergei Diaghilev” is a full-length documentary by Svetlana ASTRETSOVA, dedicated to the 145th birthday of the great impresario, which is celebrated in 2017.
The film was conceived as a journey through the “virtual” museum of Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev, where each room tells about the particular field of his activities. “Excursion” through the halls is led by the “guides” – iconic figures from different spheres of art related to the activities of Sergei Diaghilev: a writer, a historian Edvard Radzinsky, the People’s Artist of Russia, a rector of the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet Nikolai Tsiskaridze, an art critic and a fashion historian Alexandre Vasilyev. Written and directed by Svetlana Astresova.
The focus of the filmmakers was not only on the new artistic ideas of Sergei Diaghilev, but also on his talent of an organizer, his discoveries in the field of producing, public relations and advertising, on the fileds in which Diaghilev was a pioneer. Claude Debussy wrote about him:
“A man dreadful and charming, he knew how to make even rocks dance”.
And Jean Cocteau remarked:
“That sacred monster, … that Russian prince to whom life was tolerable only to the extent to which he could summon up marvels…”
The film was made with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.
Filming locations: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Perm, Venice, Paris, Monte Carlo.