On February 26, a workshop with Christopher Beaver, director and producer (USA), was held in auditorium 300, along with the screening of one of his most recent films, ‘Racing to Zero’ (2014). The director arrived in Moscow for the EcoCup festival (February 26 – February 29, 2016).
Prior to the meeting with Mr. Beaver, Ms. Tursunova, Head of the International Affairs Department, made an introduction to the history of VGIK for the guests. The delegation visited several departments: Acting, Directing and Production Design. Mr. Beaver met the Dean of Production Design Department personally and saw the exhibition of student works from the 40s and the 50s. He remarked on the high level of professionalism and talent of the students.
During his visit to the Student Studio, Mr. Beaver was present on the set of “Sofia”, video-project of Anna Tagirova, 3rd year student of the class of Mr. Abdrashitov. The decorations and the mise-en-scene were both highly acclaimed by Mr. Beaver. Mr. Bydenko, Lead Engineer at the studio, demonstrated the equipment of VGIK Student Studio to the American delegation. At the end of his visit, Mr. Beaver commented on the University’s technical quality, remarking that VGIK is on a par with the leading film schools in the world.
The meeting with Mr. Beaver was attended by the students and the faculty of Documentary Filmmaking Department, including Mr. Grigoriev, Ms. Yurina, Mr. Gelein, and the Head of the Department, Mr. Lisakovich. It was ran by Mr. Karajev, head of a master class.
After the screening of ‘Racing to Zero’, Mr. Beaver held a Q&A session and, also, told about the stages of production and issues with promoting documentary films in USA.
The event was supported by the US Embassy in Russian Federation.
Christopher Beaver is a producer and a director of multimedia projects, oriented towards the issues of climate and human impact on the environment. He was awarded the National Emmy by The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for ‘Dark Circle’ (1982).
He is an author of such films as ‘Treasures of the Greenbelt’ and ‘Tales of the San Joaquin’ (Pare Lorentz Award Nominee). Mr. Beaver is currently working on a new film called ‘Tulare, The Phantom Lake’, which reflects his great concern for water issues and their effects on the environment.
Here is a brief description of the film that was screened in VGIK: “Racing To Zero is a quick-moving, upbeat documentary presenting new solutions to the global problem of waste. By simply substituting the word RESOURCE for the word GARBAGE, a culture can be transformed, and a new wealth of industries can emerge.”