St Petersburg University presents a documentary film about Vladimir Nabokov
The Hermitage Theatre has hosted the premiere of a documentary film "Nabokov House. A Journey in Time" made by St Petersburg University staff and students to mark the 125th birth anniversary of Vladimir Nabokov. Renowned writers and literary scholars were involved in making the film, including: Valery Popov, Eugene Vodolazkin, Iakov Gordin, Andrei Astvatsaturov, Fedor Dviniatin, and others.
In 2024, St Petersburg University has a double celebration: the 300th anniversary of St Petersburg University and the 125th birth anniversary of Vladimir Nabokov, noted in his presentation Andrei Astvatsaturov, author, literary scholar, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Director of the Vladimir Nabokov Museum at St Petersburg University.
St Petersburg celebrates Vladimir Nabokov’s 125th birthday anniversary
"On this anniversary, we decided to present you and partly Vladimir Nabokov with this remarkable film," said Andrei Astvatsaturov. "When the question of selecting a director arose, it was crucial that it should be Innokentii Ivanov — a culturally and intellectually refined journalist. His style is exactly what we needed in a documentary film about Vladimir Nabokov. We would like to thank him, the students of St Petersburg University and everyone involved in this project. You will be able to see the stunning interiors of our museum, immerse yourself in the exciting and vivid atmosphere of the Nabokov House, where Vladimir Nabokov was born and raised, and the Rozhdestveno Memorial Estate."
The film features extracts from Vladimir Nabokov’s literary works and letters read by Sergei Kuryshev, People’s Artist of the Russian Federation, winner of the Golden Mask and Golden Sofit theatre awards, actor of the Academic Maly Drama Theatre — Theatre of Europe and a graduate of Leningrad State University.
Much of the filming took place in the Nabokov House at 47 Bolshaya Morskaya Street. Its unique atmosphere, fostered by the ongoing efforts of the Museum’s team of experts, pervades the film, said Fedor Dviniatin, Director of Vladimir Nabokov’s Heritage Research Centre and Associate Professor in the Department of Russian at St Petersburg University.
"This film raises a challenge for those who study Vladimir Nabokov and his legacy — the task of selecting among Nabokov’s body of work the texts that must be regarded as representative," explained Fedor Dviniatin. 'Compared to his contemporaries, among whom were: Mikhail Bulgakov; Mikhail Sholokhov; John Steinbeck; Ernest Hemingway; and others, Vladimir Nabokov’s literary legacy is vast. He produced 16 novels, short stories, novellas, autobiography "Other Shores" — about 20 full-length books in total. It is not be possible to talk about all of them in a short period of time. We have to make a choice and start little by little to form a narrow Nabokov’s canon of works.'
The writer and literary scholar Eugene Vodolazkin was one of the narrative consultants of the film. He mentioned one of Vladimir Nabokov’s qualities that is very important for Russian culture. Vladimir Nabokov is a greatest denouncer of vulgarity, which was totally alien to him. His books are infused with unique, unexpected metaphors that helped him to convey what he had seen in life, granting the reader immunity against banality and falsity.
"In a way, writing appears to be about naming as yet unnamed and describing hitherto undescribed. Perhaps, these words can define the essence of literature. Vladimir Nabokov was an absolutely unique person in this respect. He named so many unnamed things that standing aside, we do not even question this, but quietly and gratefully take those words as a gift," said Eugene Vodolazkin.
Before the screening of the film, the premiere of the song ‘Mona Lisa’ took place. The song was written by composer Yuriy Berendyukov to a poem by Vladimir Nabokov and performed by the Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation Marina Kapuro.
The film "Nabokov House. A Journey in Time" comprises eight dramatised documentary novellas. The director of the film is the renowned Russian journalist and documentarian, winner of the Golden Pen of Russia award of the Union of Journalists of the Russian Federation, Assistant Professor in the Department of TV and Radio Broadcasting at St Petersburg State University Innokentii Ivanov. The film crew included students and graduates of the Graduate School of Journalism and Mass Communication at St Petersburg University: Mariia Krupenko; Mariia Novikova; Andrei Zmeev; Iuliia Plekhanova; Diana Lolaeva; Kseniia Taran; Daniil Pashkov; and Olesia Chulina. Each of them worked on one of the novellas, focusing on one aspect of the writer’s life: the construction of Rozhdestveno estate; his passion for chess; his famous novels; and much more.
Unique documentary materials were used in the film. Thanks to this, the audience will be able to hear Vladimir Nabokov’s voice and see rare photographs and newsreel footage of the famous author: during his interviews; playing chess with his wife Vera; at work; in the streets of different cities and towns around the world.
The dramatised scenes are performed by stage actors of St Petersburg theatres: Anna Shchetinina, winner of the Breakthrough and Golden Sofit theatre awards; Aleksandr Muravitskii, winner of the Golden Mask and Golden Sofit awards (as a member of a creative team), and others.
The film "Nabokov House. A Journey in Time" is shown in the Vladimir Nabokov Museum of St Petersburg University. In future, it is planned for TV release as a mini-series in four 39-min episodes.