Andrei Konchalovsky retrospective

Andrei Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky was born on August 20, 1937 in Moscow, in the then Soviet Union. He is the descendent of famous painters and the son of a poet (his father wrote the lyrics for the Soviet national anthem). He studied music at the Moscow Conservatory, specialising in piano. Later on, he became interested in cinema and studied filmmaking at the State Film School (VGIK) at Moscow under the famous film theorist and teacher Mikhail Romm. His thesis film The Boy and the Pigeon (1961) was awarded a prize at the Venice Film Festival in 1962.

He entered the Moscow film studios as a screenplay-writer and assistant to famous Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky. He worked with Tarkovsky in two of his early films: Ivan's Childhood (1962) and Andrei Rublev (1966). He made his own directorial feature debut in 1965, which attracted critical attention for his mature skills and distinct gift for character observation. His subsequent films were also acclaimed by critics and film connoisseurs all over the world. He won a prize for his version of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya (1971) at the San Sebastian Film Festival and the Grand Prix at Karlovy Vary for Romance for Lovers (1974). Asya's Happiness was made in 1967, but not released until 1988.

The Siberiad, his panoramic epic on Siberia, was a huge critical success. The film marked a domestic and international triumph, winning him many prizes. It won the Special Prize of the Jury at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival. American actor Jon Voight lobbied to bring him to Hollywood after the film's success. Konchalovsky's Hollywood years did not produce great films. The only film worth mentioning is his filmed version of an Akira Kurosawa script, The Runaway Train (1985), a psychological Thriller. Tango and Cash (1989) is a disappointing Hollywood thriller starring Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell. His version of the Homeric epic The Odyssey (1997) is a faithful rendering of the story with some very good special effects.

His earlier film Maria's Lovers (1985) won him the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The House of Fools (2003) is his most recent film.

These films will be screened at the Russian Cultural Centre at Road No 7, Dhanmondi, today.