Shepitko, Larisa Efimovna

In 1954 she graduated from high school in Lviv . In 1955 she entered the directing department of VGIK (workshop of A.P. Dovzhenko , after his death in 1956 - M.E. Chiaureli ). As a student, she starred in several films as an actress, including in The Poem on the Sea (1958), begun by A.P. Dovzhenko and completed by his wife, Julia Solntseva .

The first full-length film - the diploma work “ Heat ” (1963) based on the story of Chingiz Aitmatov “Camel Eye” - was shot in Kyrgyzstan , where the Film Studio of documentaries and feature films, which received the name “ Kyrgyzstan film” in 1961, was reorganized. At the stage of editing the painting, Larisa Shepitko was helped by Elem Klimov , who was also a student at VGIK at that time. In 1963 they became spouses (their only son Anton was born in 1973). The film “Heat” was awarded the prize for its debut at the IFF in Karlovy Vary (1964) and the prize of the I All-Union Film Festival in Leningrad .

Fame Larisa Shepitko brought her second film “ Wings ” (1966), telling about the post-war fate of the pilot Nadezhda Petrukhina. Maya Bulgakova , who played this role, was recognized in 1966 as the best actress of the year.

The next film, “Homeland of Electricity” based on the story of Andrei Platonov , was shot in the village of Seroglazovo, Astrakhan Region ; many non-professional performers from among local residents were employed in the picture. The film, along with the novels “Angel” by A. S. Smirnov and “Motrya” by G. S. Gabay , was to be included in the film almani “ Beginning of the Unknown Century ”, which the Mosfilm studio was preparing for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution . However, for censorship reasons, neither the "Homeland of Electricity" nor "Angel" were released on the screen (the picture was restored and shown to the audience only 20 years later, in 1987).

Then Shepitko made her first color film - the musical fairy tale “ At the thirteenth hour of the night ” (1969) - the New Year’s review with artists such as Vladimir Basov , Georgy Vitsin , Zinovy ​​Gerdt , Spartak Mishulin , Anatoly Papanov and others.

The second (and last) color picture " You and Me " (1971) was shot according to the script of Larisa Shepitko and Gennady Shpalikov and is dedicated to the generation of thirty years old. The heroes of the film are Peter and Sasha, talented medical scientists who “for the sake of random and optional successes, for the sake of prestigious prospects ... put aside their talent for a while (as they believed) and rushed into the world of material and business conquests” ^[4] . The main roles in the film were played by Leonid Dyachkov , Yuri Vizbor and Alla Demidova (initially Bella Akhmadulina auditioned for the main female role). In the same year, at the IFF in Venice, Larisa Shepitko was awarded a medal for this picture in a young film competition.

In 1974, Larisa Shepitko was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR .

Soon the shooting of the film “ Ascent ” begins on the novel by Vasil Bykov “ Sotnikov ”. The first big roles in this film were played by young actors Boris Plotnikov and Vladimir Gostyukhin . The film was on the verge of a ban and was released only after the intervention of the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus Pyotr Masherov . “Ascension” - an existential drama about faith and betrayal, was awarded the main prizes of the All-Union Film Festival in Riga , and at the international film festival in West Berlin the film received the Golden Bear Grand Prix, the FIPRESCI Prize and the ecumenical jury. In 1978, Larisa Shepitko received an invitation to the jury of the Berlin Film Festival .

After that, the director prepares the script for the film “Matera” based on the novel by Valentin Rasputin “Farewell to Matera” . Filming was supposed to take place on Lake Seliger , and in early June in 1979 a film expedition was planned there.

In the early morning of July 2, 1979, the Volga filming pickup crashed into a truck. From the book by Alla Demidova “Running line of memory”:

Her death is also twisted into her fate and the strength of her will. She began to make a new film - "Matera". It was necessary to go to a choice of nature very early. And before that, someone from the group had a birthday, and they asked Larisa to leave later. "Not. Once appointed, it is necessary. " And they left. The driver fell asleep. The policeman saw him rushing along the Volga parabola, in which everyone was sleeping, he wanted to stop her, but did not have time. “And,” the truck driver said, “I saw the Volga rushing towards me. I turned to the side of the road, then I practically got up. I had nowhere else to go ... ”The truck was with a trailer loaded with bricks, the Volga crashed into the trailer with all its might, and these bricks covered a common grave. Shepitko’s character is in both her films and her death.

As a result of this car accident, Larisa Shepitko and the crew members died (cameraman Vladimir Chukhnov , artist Yuri Fomenko and their assistants were also in the car).

Work on the film “Matera” was completed by Larisa’s husband, film director Ele Klimov , who called the film “ Farewell ” ( 1981 ). He also made a documentary about her “ Larisa ” ( 1980 ), edited from fragments of her films and interviews with her colleagues.

Larisa Shepitko was buried at Kuntsevo cemetery .