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Kirill Serebrennikov

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In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Semyonovich and the family name is Serebrennikov.
Kirill Serebrennikov
Кирилл Серебренников
Serebrennikov at the 69th Venice International Film Festival in 2012
Born (1969-09-07) 7 September 1969 (age 55)
Rostov-on-Don, Soviet Union
Alma materRostov State University
Occupation(s)Stage and film director
Years active1994–present

Kirill Semyonovich Serebrennikov (Russian: Кирилл Семёнович Серебренников; Ukrainian: Кирило Семенович Серебренніков, romanized: Kyrylo Semenovych Serebrennikov; born 7 September 1969) is a Russian stage and film director and theatre designer. Since 2012, he has been the artistic director of the Gogol Center in Moscow. He is one of Russia's leading theatre and cinema directors and winner of numerous international awards.

In 2017 he was arrested for alleged embezzlement of the state funds given to the Seventh Studio, a cultural institution he headed. Serebrennikov spent almost 2 years under house arrest. A key witness confessed that she made accusations under pressure from the investigators, and the judge was changed. Media, international cultural community and human rights activists unanimously considered the case politically motivated and fabricated because Serebrennikov was known for his liberal and LGBT-friendly stances that opposes Russian official conservative positions. In June 2020, Serebrennikov was sentenced guilty and given three years of probation. In March 2022 the sentence was cancelled.

Biography

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Family and early years

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Serebrennikov was born in Rostov-on-Don, Russian SFSR to a Jewish father and a Ukrainian mother. His father, Semyon Mikhailovich Serebrennikov[a] was a surgeon, while his mother, Iryna Oleksandrivna Lytvyn[b] was a teacher of Russian language and literature.[1] Having graduated from Rostov State University with majors in physics in 1992. Serebrennikov had no formal theatre education prior to his stage director debut in 1994.[2] Kirill’s grandfather Alexander Ivanovich Litvin[c][d] was a film director and screenwriter, he worked at Moldova-Film in (1953–1972) and was titled an Honored Culture Worker of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic.[3]

As recalled by his mother, Serebrennikov was drawn to theater as early as in kindergarten age. He studied at the math school, in the 8th grade he established his own student theater and staged a play called ‘Shadow’. Following the will of his parents, he entered the Physics department at the Rostov State University [ru] and graduated with honours in 1992, but soon after graduation he started working on TV.[4]

Career

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Serebrennikov made his first steps as a professional director as early as in 1990. In 1998 he emerged as a film director. In 2001, he staged his first production in Moscow. Serebrennikov has staged ‘Plastilin’ at the Centre of Drama and Directing.[5] Later he worked Moscow Chekhov Theatre, Latvian National Theatre, Theatre of Nations. He has been active in opera staging productions for the Mariinsky Theatre, and the Bolshoi Theatre in Russia,[6] where he has also been a stage director and a designer for a ballet,[7] Komische Oper Berlin and Stuttgart Opera in Germany.[8]

For several years Serebrennikov’s career flourished under the patronage of "grey cardinal" Vladislav Surkov, the Putin aide who developed the notion of Russia’s "sovereign democracy": he even directed a stage version of a novel that Surkov wrote under a pseudonym.[9][10]

In 2006 Serebrennikov became an art director of the ‘Territory’ International Festival.[11] Since 2008, he is a professor of the Moscow Art Theatre School, where he has a class of actors and directors.[2] His productions have been presented at the Wiener Festwochen,[12] and the Avignon Theatre Festival.[13] His films have been screened at Cannes Film Festival,[14] Locarno Film Festival, Rome Film Festival, and the Warsaw International Film Festival where his film Yuri's Day (2008) received the Grand Prix.[15] His film The Student (2016) was awarded a prize in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2009 Serebrennikov launched the Platforma art incubator, a platform that supported theatre projects around Russia. By 2015, more than 340 projects were staged and released.[16]

In 2011 Serebrennikov staged Rimsky-Korsakov’s ‘The Golden Cockerel’ for the Bolshoi. The play received wide acclaims and was perceived by many as a 'biting satire' on Kremlin.[17][18]

In 2012, he was appointed artistic director of The Gogol Center.[19] Under Serebrennikov it evolved into the world-renowned center of liberal art.[20][21] However, many peers criticized the new director for his edginess and running against the conservative course led by Russian authorities.[17] Zhenya Berkovich, one of Serebrennikov's students, staged one of the first plays at the Gogol Centre.[22]

For TV, Serebrennikov directed more than 100 commercials, two documentaries, 11 music videos and three TV series. In 2006-2007 Serebrennikov hosted ‘Drugoe Kino’ (‘Other Cinema’) TV show at the TV3 channel.[5] In 2007 he hosted a talk-show ‘Details (Talk Show) [ru]’ at the STS (TV channel).[23][5]

In 2016 his version of the ‘Barber of Seville’ was premiered at the Komische Oper Berlin.[24]

Three plays of Serebrennikov were awarded at the Festival d’Avignon: ‘The Idiots’, ‘Dead Souls’ and ‘Outside’ (2019).[25] In 2019 he staged ‘Nasha Alla’ (‘Our Alla’), a tribute to the Russian Prima Donna Alla Pugacheva.[26][27]

Arrest and prosecution

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On 23 May 2017, Serebrennikov's apartment and the Gogol Center facilities were raided by law enforcement agents in connection with an alleged embezzlement at the Seventh Studio.[28] While initially no charges against Serebrennikov have been filed, some of Russia's most prominent cultural figures saw the publicized raid of his apartment as a political gesture, discouraging Serebrennikov and others from criticizing the government.[29] Serebrennikov had criticised the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea and has spoken out in support of Russia’s LGBT community.[30] Vladimir Urin, and Yevgeny Mironov, among others, in May 2017 expressed their support of Serebrennikov in a letter passed on to Russian President Vladimir Putin at a public function.[31] In July 2017 Serebrennikov's premiere of the ballet ‘Nureyev’ in Bolshoi was cancelled at the last minute.[17]

On 22 August 2017, Serebrennikov was detained by the Investigative Committee of Russia, suspected of masterminding a fraud scheme involving a state subsidy of almost 129 million rubles (about $1.9 million) the Seventh Studio received from the government of Russia for the ‘Platforma’ project from 2011 to 2014.[32][33] Serebrennikov has been placed under house arrest until 19 October.[34] Seventh Studio former director Yuri Itin has already been placed under house arrest since 31 May 2017.[35] Ex-chief accountant of Seventh Studio, Nina Maslyaeva, gave confessions and has been held in custody since then.[36] Serebrennikov refused any accusations and called the charges laughable. According to him, all the money was spent for the theater that thrived and became a world-renowned institution.[37] On August 23, 2017, hundreds of people gathered in front of the courthouse protesting against arrest.[38] The case received significant media coverage and was unanimously perceived as politically motivated.[30] Colleagues told the media that Serebrennikov was hated by many officials for his views.[17] 34 prominent artists and cultural workers pledged to guarantee Serebrennikov’s bail payment.[38] More than 3500 artists signed a letter of support asking the Culture Ministry to drop charges from the director.[21] The prosecutors asked for six years in prison.[39]

During Serebrennikov’s house arrest, in December 2017 his ballet ‘Nureev’ was premiered at the Bolshoi.[40] Later, in 2018, the ballet received the ‘Benois de la Danse’ award.[41]

The trial was called Kafkaesque in the media and unanimously perceived as a political mock by Serebrennikov supporters. Though the ‘Platform’ bookkeeping was indeed sloppy, the prosecutors tried to claim that the play ‘A Midsummer Night's Dream’ was never staged, though it was actually released, played abroad and won numerous international awards.[25][16] Key witness of prosecution Eleonora Filimonova later told the court that she was pressured and threatened by the investigators.[42] The house arrest was prolonged several times.[43] After 18 months,[21] in June 2020, Serebrennikov was convicted and given three years of probation and a three-year ban on leading any cultural institution with governmental support. He was also required to pay a fine of 800,000 roubles. Itin and Maslyaeva were also sentenced to probation.[44][45][46]

In February 2021, Serebrennikov was fired from the Gogol Centre.[20]

On November 12, 2021, Serebrennikov repaid 129 mln roubles claimed as compensation by the Culture Ministry.[47]

On March 28, 2022, the court canceled the suspended sentence taking into account that all financial damage was repaid and Serebrennikov received a positive profile during his term.[45] The travel ban was lifted and Kirill was able to leave Russia.[48][49]

Private life

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Serebrennikov is openly gay.[50] He is an activist of LGBT causes.[51] In an interview given to The Hollywood Reporter, Serebrennikov stated "“Look, if gay people are under pressure, then art and particular theater should be on their side.” If there is trauma somewhere that’s where we should be — with theater, with art, with everything, right?"[52]

Further work

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Serebrennikov worked fruitfully even during the home arrest: he watched videos from rehearsals, recorded the comments and sent them to cast with the help of his lawyers. That way he managed to release Mozart’s “Così Fan Tutte” in Zurich and Verdi’s “Nabucco” in Hamburg.[53] In 2020 his 'Decamerone' was shown in Berlin.[54] In 2018 his movie Leto about Russian rock legends Viktor Tsoi and Mike Naumenko entered the main competition of the Cannes Film Festival.[55][43] In April 2021 Wagner’s “Parsifal” premiered in the Vienna State Opera.[39][56]

In 2017, the Bolshoi Ballet postponed the premiere of his ballet Nureyev to 2018 due to alleged "gay propaganda" being included in the ballet.[57] Serebrennikov opposed the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine, leading to first the temporary, then permanent cancellation of Nureyev.[58] Serebrennikov's ballet A Hero of Our Time was also supposed to premiere at the Bolshoi Ballet in May 2023, however, that ballet was cancelled as well without explanation.[59][60]

In March 2022 Serebrennikov was chosen to open the 76th Festival d’Avignon.[56] His new play ‘The Black Monk’ premiered at the Festival in July 2022.[61]

His film Petrov's Flu (2021) received the Vulcan award for best cinematography at Cannes Film Festival.

In May 2022 Serebrennikov became the only Russian director to participate in the Cannes Film Festival with his film Tchaikovsky's Wife.[62]

Europe Theatre Prize

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In 2017 he was awarded the XIV Europe Prize Theatrical Realities, in Rome,[63] with the following motivation:

Author, screenwriter, playwright, stage and film director, professor of theatre, inventor of innovative solutions in scenography, architect of new theatre spaces, teacher and instructor, Kirill Serebrennikov is the artistic director of the Gogol Centre, Moscow, where he also teaches at the School of Theatre Arts. His wide-ranging activities can be explained in part by the fact that he has no specific theatre or film training: instead he has a master’s degree in physics. Often taken for a provocateur, what he shows in his work comes essentially from his open mentality, his vision, his many talents and a way of lateral thinking, that of a scientist or a true artist, who knows how to assess and understand reality in order to critically distil its fundamental aspects, and contribute to its transformation by letting the anxieties of our time find expression.[64]

Filmography

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Films

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Television

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Awards

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Notes

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  1. ^ Russian: Семён Михаилович Серебренников; born 1933
  2. ^ Ukrainian: Ірина Олександрівна Литвин;
    Russian: Ирина Александровна Литвин, romanized: Irina Aleksandrovna Litvin; died 17 February 2018
  3. ^ Russian: Александр Иванович Литвин
  4. ^ Born 1907 in Poltava, Russian Empire (now Ukraine) and died in 1987 in Kishinev, Moldovan SSR (now Chișinău, Moldova)

References

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  1. ^ "Кирилл Серебернников – интервью | Блог Ботинок". Archived from the original on 21 April 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  2. ^ a b "ТЕРРИТОРИЯ // Kirill Serebrennikov". territoryfest.com. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  3. ^ "Литвин Александр" [Litvin, Alexander]. Encyclopedia Moldova. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  4. ^ "Мама Кирилла Серебренникова Ирина ЛИТВИН: Я ДО СИХ ПОР покупаю сыну вещи" (in Russian). Komsomolskaya Pravda. 7 September 2006. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  5. ^ a b c "Биография Кирилла Серебренникова" (in Russian). RIA Novosti. 9 February 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  6. ^ "People". bolshoi.ru. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  7. ^ Cappelle, Laura (23 July 2015). "A Hero of Our Time, Bolshoi Ballet, Moscow — review". Financial Times. ISSN 0307-1766. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  8. ^ ""Salome" an der Stuttgarter Staatsoper: Tage des Terrors | Kultur Info | SWR2" (in German). Retrieved 25 August 2016.[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ Aleksander, Irina (10 August 2022). "The Russian Filmmaker Trapped Between Hollywood and Moscow". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  10. ^ Yaffa, Joshua (11 December 2017). "The Rise and Fall of Russia's Most Acclaimed Theatre Director". The New Yorker. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  11. ^ "Kirill Serebrennikov". Golden Mask. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  12. ^ oe1.orf.at. "Serebrennikow inszeniert "Tote Seelen"". Retrieved 25 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ "Kirill Serebrennikov - Festival d'Avignon". www.festival-avignon.com. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  14. ^ "Uchenik by Kirill Serebrennikov - Festival de Cannes 2016". www.festival-cannes.com. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  15. ^ "МХТ им. А. П. Чехова: Кирилл Серебренников". mxat.ru. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  16. ^ a b Anastassia Boutsko (25 June 2020). "Kirill Serebrennikov: Prison sentence looms for celebrated Russian director". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  17. ^ a b c d Shaun Walker (9 July 2017). "Shock as Bolshoi cancels world premiere of Nureyev ballet". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  18. ^ "Кирилл Серебренников поставил в Большом театре "Золотого петушка"". Vesti. 20 June 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  19. ^ "Kirill Serebrennikov". en.gogolcenter.com. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  20. ^ a b Theo Merz (10 February 2021). "Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov fired from Gogol Center". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
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  22. ^ "Арест режиссера Жени Беркович: что известно о деле об оправдании терроризма" [Arrest of filmmaker Zhenya Berkovic: What is known about the case of justification of terrorism]. Forbes (in Russian). 5 May 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  23. ^ "Руководство СТС приняло решение закрыть "Детали"" [STS Channel to CLose ‘Detali’ Talk Show] (in Russian). Lenizdat. 23 June 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  24. ^ "Barber of Seville" (in German). Komische Oper Berlin. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  25. ^ a b "Outside" (PDF). Festival D’Avignon. 17 July 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  26. ^ Vinogradova, P. (26 March 2020). "А знаешь, всё ещё будет" [Everything is yet to come]. L’Officiel. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  27. ^ ""Наша Алла". Спектакль Кирилла Серебренникова" [‘Nasha Alla’ Kirill Serebrennikov’s Play]. Yeltsin Centre. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  28. ^ Nechepurenko, Ivan (24 May 2017). "Police Raids Targeting Moscow Director Set Off Fears of a Crackdown". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  29. ^ "Machine Against the Stage: Authorities Target Edgy Theater Director". Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  30. ^ a b Bennetts, Marc; agencies (16 January 2018). "Russian film stars offer support to director in fraud case". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  31. ^ "Евгений Миронов передал Путину письмо в защиту Кирилла Серебренникова — Meduza". Meduza (in Russian). Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  32. ^ "The Seventh Studio Case: What Kirill Serebrennikov means to Russia's art world". Meduza. 27 July 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  33. ^ "Russian theatre director Serebrennikov held in fraud case". BBC News. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  34. ^ Walker, Shaun; agencies (23 August 2017). "Russian court puts theatre director under house arrest". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  35. ^ Theater directors ask court to free Gogol Center ex-head Archived 26 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine, russiangate.com, 26 June 2017.
  36. ^ Экс-главбух «Седьмой студии» дала признательные показания Archived 25 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine, russiangate.com, 8 June 2017 (in Russian).
  37. ^ "Kirill Serebrennikov: Russian film and stage director convicted of fraud". BBC. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  38. ^ a b Howard Amos (23 August 2017). "Angry protests as Russian court puts theatre director under house arrest". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  39. ^ a b Andrew E. Kramer (26 June 2020). "Prominent Russian Director Is Convicted of Embezzlement". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  40. ^ Shaun Walker (10 December 2017). "Nureyev premieres in Moscow with director under house arrest". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  41. ^ "Benois de la Danse 2018 – Les résultats" (in French). Danses avec la plume. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  42. ^ "Key Witness in Serebrennikov's Fraud Trial Claims 'Severe Pressure' From Investigators". The Moscow Times. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  43. ^ a b Jochen Kürten (7 November 2018). "Detained Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov releases film as trial begins". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  44. ^ Andrew Roth (26 June 2020). "Top Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov convicted of fraud". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  45. ^ a b "Суд снял судимость с Кирилла Серебренникова". RBC. 28 March 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  46. ^ Dixon, Robyn (26 June 2020). Written at Moscow. "Renowned Russian director convicted of embezzlement in what critics call a show trial". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  47. ^ "Серебренников единолично выплатил сумму в 129 млн руб. по иску Минкультуры" [Serebrennikov Pays 129 Mln Losses to Culture Ministry] (in Russian). Interfax. 12 November 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  48. ^ "Star Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov surprises Germany". dw.com. 11 January 2022.
  49. ^ Elsa Keslassy (30 March 2022). "Director Kirill Serebrennikov Leaves Russia and Resettles in Germany Following End of Travel Ban". Variety. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  50. ^ "Russian Analytical Digest No 228: Cultural Politics". css.ethz.ch. ETH Zurich. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  51. ^ Forster, Siegfried (15 February 2023). "Kirill Serebrennikov dévoile "La femme de Tchaïkovski", l'homosexualité et la gloire" ["Kirill Serebrennikov reveals "Tchaikovsky's Wife", homosexuality, and glory"]. Radio France International (in French). Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  52. ^ Abramovitch, Seth (30 June 2020). "Russian Director Kirill Serebrennikov Breaks Silence After Fraud Conviction: "I Am Not a Thief"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  53. ^ Goldman, A. J. (2 November 2018). "Russia Locked Him Up. But He's Directing an Opera 1,400 Miles Away". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  54. ^ Dmitry Vachedin (10 March 2020). "Love in times of quarantine: Serebrennikov stages 'Decamerone' in Berlin". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  55. ^ "Cannes review: 'Leto', Soviet Russia's summer of love and rock 'n' roll". France 24. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  56. ^ a b "Russian director asked to open French theatre festival despite travel ban". The Local. 24 March 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  57. ^ Koval', Il'ya (10 July 2017). "Балет "Нуреев" перенесли из-за подозрений в "гей-пропаганде"" ["Ballet 'Nureyev' postponed over suspicions of "gay propaganda"]. Deutsche Welle (in Russian). Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  58. ^ "Bolshoi ballet about Nureyev dropped due to ban on 'LGBT propaganda'". The Guardian. 19 April 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  59. ^ "Russia's Bolshoi drops shows by two directors who spoke out against war". Reuters. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  60. ^ "Bolshoi pulls Nureyev ballet citing ban on LGBT 'propaganda'". AP NEWS. 19 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  61. ^ "Kirill Serebrennikov". Festival d’Avignon. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  62. ^ Vanessa Thorpe (19 May 2022). "Russian Cannes contender defends Roman Abramovich as a 'patron of the arts'". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  63. ^ "XVI EDIZIONE". Premio Europa per il Teatro (in Italian). Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  64. ^ "Catalogue XVI edition - Europe Theatre Prize" (PDF). 5 April 2018. p. 50.
  65. ^ Felperin, Leslie (22 June 2006). "Review: 'Playing the Victim'". Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  66. ^ Lodge, Guy (13 May 2016). "Cannes Film Review: 'The Student'". Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  67. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (18 October 2022). "Fugitive Nazi Doctor Josef Mengele to Be Played by German Star August Diehl in Kirill Serebrennikov's 'The Disappearance' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  68. ^ "Le cinéaste russe assigné à résidence Kirill Serebrennikov décoré par la France". Agence France-Presse. 2 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  69. ^ "Вручение знаков отличия командора Ордена искусств и литературы Господину Кириллу Серебренникову" [Mr Serebrennikov Awarded with Ordre des Arts et des Lettres]. French Embassy in Moscow. 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  70. ^ "Ассоциация театральных критиков признала Кирилла Серебренникова человеком года" (in Russian). Meduza. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  71. ^ "Человек года 2019: Кирилл Серебренников". GQ. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
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