XVI - “One should begin with zero”: A discussion with satiric filmmaker Yuri Mamin

Summary

The following is an edited version of the conference discussion (moderated by Andrew Horton) with Yuri Mamin of his work.

Horton: Yuri, you are a satirist, but as Whiskers suggests, your films are becoming darker. Is there a danger that you will wind up with no audience, especially given Valentin Tolstykh's remarks that the Soviet people are fed up with chernukha films?

Mamin: It would be a failure, of course, if people don't go to see my films since they were made for audiences. But the problem is what kind of laughter is needed now. When I see angry people in the audience ready to tear each other apart for their ideological beliefs, I become frightened. I thus made Whiskers on a different level than my previous work. This film was made under the influence of my own anger. I want my audience to laugh and think and come out of the cinema, not fighting, but rather patting each other on the back. I want to promote through laughter the virtues of tolerance and kindness.

Horton: We have just looked at the closing scene from Zero City as the main character floats alone in a boat on a lake after his many strange encounters with … Zero City.