“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men evolved differently, that they are born with certain mutable characteristics, and that among these are life and the pursuit of pleasure.” — the American Declaration of Independence translated into biological terms +
La Prière / The prayer at the Berlin Film Festival is a classically, solidly, well-told story about a French heroin addict who joins a Christian Catholic community of former addicts who live isolated in the Alps mountains and use manual work and prayer as a +
A premiere of “Dovlatov” film at the Berlin Film Festival. 6 days in the 70s life of a Soviet writer Sergei Dovlatov – Сергей Довлатов, an unknown to almost anyone in the USSR until it fell in 1991. And still largely unknown globally. Unfortunately, not +
If you care about my opinion about the Berlin Film Festival line-up and awards — except the very, very worthy La Prière — it’s a perfect image of the mentally sick asylum which is our current, past and future global society. I chose to quit +
Sitting down, closing your eyes and focusing on your breath is… relaxation. Which is fine. The point of meditation is to move beyond the confines of the illusory separate self into a stabilized state of maximum awareness (and eventually enlightenment) where you experience the cessation +
That “live in the present moment” thing? Well, you know what, it’ll become a “dead in the past forever” thing in 100 years max. Ignore human-scale time at your own risk. Oh, and the “God only knows the Plan” thing… that’s so you follow someone +
The night sky represents the myriad of opportunities you’ll never realize, trillions of galaxies, each containing millions of stars and dozens of places to go and see. A stark reminder of our limits. Speed of light vs speed of life. +
Have finally watched Manchester By The Sea… Not a really wise choice given the recent death in my own family. An extremely sad drama with an almost complete collection of human dysfunctions in American context. Cinema aspects: excellent, stunning acting, just amazing, touches even through +
Success in art is predicated on tolerance: tolerance to stress, tolerance to the unknown, tolerance to failure, tolerance to social pressure. Some of it is built-in, hard-coded with your DNA. Some can be modified and improved with discipline training, emotional awareness / control / sublimation, +
“Not only did the Berlin violin students spend most of their time with other music students, but they also tended to date music students or at least others who would appreciate their passion for music and understand their need to prioritize their practice.” Anders Ericsson +
Here’s how to pursue your passion. First, choose the passion. If you don’t know what it is, then skip to the next step. Second: go to school. If you had a passion, the teachers will most probably beat the crap out of you, intellectually, and +
On Monday, July 26, 1971, Diane Arbus wrote the words “Last Supper” in her diary. She placed the appointment book on the stairs leading to the bathroom. She swallowed a large dose of barbiturates and, still in her clothes, laid down inside the tub. Then, +
So, IRL work-related meetings with me? Sure. Sometimes. But within those parameters, please: silence — no one talking except those involved in the conversation clean air — no smoke, smog, strong perfume, flu viruses… privacy — no one staring at us / me with a +
Well, I’ve waited about a week before saying it… but the whole Brexit thing is a pathetic show of stupidity, hypocrisy, xenophobia and egotism. The good thing is that around half of real-life UKers are OKers (and that includes my friends on the island). So +
Well, I think Ken Loach’s “I, Daniel Blake” Palme at Cannes 2016 is well-deserved. One of his best, with “Riff Raff”. But, typically Loachy. Social, touching… but nothing exceptional, nothing surprising. More of a documentary, a light on a problem that needs to be shined +
“Recent research finds that most people approach their work in one of 3 ways: 1) a job 2) a career 3) a calling If you see your work as a job, you do it only for the money, you look at the clock frequently, while +
All the dates, specs, numbers and other production details of my longest feature film so far, Kvadrat Gear. +
What better way to rest from all the hard shooting and editing of my first feature film, Kvadrat, than to shoot and edit a second feature film? Especially if it’s the exact opposite of the first one? A classical documentary with dialogue, voice-over, still photos and archival footage? +
My own thoughts about my Kvadrat film. The reasons to get into cinema, film a documentary, decide on a feature instead of a short, choose a weird techno musical genre… The goals, the themes, the ideas, the style, the execution, the difficulties and other details. +
The original synopsis of my Kvadrat documentary feature film I wrote in April 2011. How does it compare with the end-result? +
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