Journal of Film Preservation - FIAF

Festival de films d’archives à
Belye Stolby
Depuis 1997, afin de répondre aux besoins
des critiques de cinéma, cinéastes et
chercheurs, le Gosfilmofond de Russie
organise le Festival de films d’archives à
Belye Stolby. Pendant trois ou quatre jours,
les participants ont l’occasion de visionner
des films, du matin au soir, et d’échanger
leurs idées. Le lieu et le climat s’y prètent:
d’une part, Belye Stolby est situé à quelques
50km de Moscou et prend avantage de la
proximité des archives de Gosfilmofond,
source intarissable de documents historiques
et chef-d’œuvre du 7ème art, d’autre part, le
Festival a lieu au mois de janvier. Les
participants passent des longues nuits de
l’hiver russe à voir des films et à discuter.
Belye Stolby 1999 était consacré à la
Nouvelle Vague et à son influence sur le
cinéma soviétique. L’autre événement était la
célébration du 200ème anniversaire
d’Alexandre Pouchkine. L’accent était mis
sur l’adaptation de ses œuvres à l’étranger
(entre autre, pour le cinéma tchèque et
polonais). Cet hommage à Pushkin fut
également l’occasion pour Gosfilmofond de
lancer un vaste projet comprenant des
rétrospectives de films basés sur l’œuvre du
poète russe, la production de séries de
télévision et la publication d’une
filmographie des adaptations
cinématographiques.
Convaincus du rôle important que peut
jouer la connaissance de l’histoire du cinéma
russe moderne dans la création
contemporaine, les responsables de
Gosfilmofond espèrent susciter l’intérêt des
cinéastes accourement sont chaque année
plus nombreux au festival de Belye Stolby
2000.
of the hotel in Belye Stolby. Gosfilmofond is located in a small town,
50km from Moscow city, the town being so small, that it does not
provide any public transport. Meanwhile Gosfilmofond facilities are
several miles from the railway station.
To increase the number of guests this year, festival organisers even
ordered special buses, which circulated every day between Moscow and
Belye Stolby. The last bus left for Moscow at about 20.00, which was just
a relative comfort, since the guests who used it missed the evening
screening. However, those lucky enough to get a room in the hotel were
fully rewarded by the opportunity to plunge into the unique “Belye
Stolby” atmosphere.
The festival takes place in January, when winter in Russia is at its
strongest point. Snowdrifts and frosts are accompanied by the absence of
morning or evening twilight. There is only a short light day and a long
dark night. The night is so long, that sometimes the film projector light
seems to be the only ray in the surrounding darkness. As you see, cold,
darkness, remoteness from the capital and density of the program
encourage devotion to film screenings and a lot of communication.
The so-called “round tables” allow film critics and journalists to manifest
their knowledge and education as well as the fact that some of them
have worked out certain personal points of view. Representatives of
different TV channels thus have the chance to acquire knowledge they
would normally miss and then to impress an audience of many millions.
As a result, the small and seemingly local film event does not just
nourish film critics and researchers, but also encourages film journalists
and culturally educates the broadest audience.
Naturally, every year we try to elaborate a program, which refers to
certain historical events, phenomena or movements. For instance, the
lion’s share of “Belye Stolby - 99” was devoted to the jubilee of the
famous “Nouvelle Vague”, which started rolling in about 1959, and
consequently celebrated its 40th anniversary in 1999. In addition to
purely historical reasons, the artistic director of the festival, Vladimir
Dmitriev, chose the subject according to some moral considerations. The
atmosphere of creative community, the ability and eagerness to help each
other and to glorify your comrade’s success - all these factors of vital
importance are almost missing from the modern Russian film process.
Ironically, this time young film directors were particularly scarce in Belye
Stolby. But the best known maÓtres of Soviet - Russian cinema were
invited to participate in a discussion on the “Nouvelle Vague” and its
impact on Soviet cinema. To make the discussion as informative as
possible, the scientific department of Gosfilmofond prepared an
impressive booklet with about twenty extended interviews by the bestknown
Russian filmmakers. Each was asked three questions: 1) when
did you see the “nouvelle vague” for the first time, and what was your
first impression? 2) did the “nouvelle vague” influence your creative
choices? 3) has your attitude to the “nouvelle vague” changed over the
94 Journal of Film Preservation / 58/59 / 1999