Childhood and youth
Kirill Serebrennikov (this is his real name) was born on September 7, 1969 in Rostov-on-Don. His mother Irina Aleksandrovna Litvin worked as a teacher of Russian language and literature at school, his father Semyon Mikhailovich Serebrennikov was a surgeon, he is an associate professor of the Department of Urology at the Rostov Medical Institute. On his father’s side, Jewish blood flows in the director’s veins, and on his mother’s, Ukrainian blood flows, so it is difficult to accurately name Kirill’s nationality.
As Serebrennikov wrote, he is a hereditary cinematographer, because his grandfather graduated from VGIK, although he was an ordinary Ukrainian shepherd. Subsequently, Alexander Ivanovich Litvin became the director of documentaries at the Moldova-Film film studio.
Kirill attended a school with a physics and mathematics focus, where he was an excellent student, and in high school he was a Komsomol activist. Kirill staged his first performance on the school stage, his family fully supported him in his endeavors. The experiment was a success - the audience applauded. Later, the young director mastered the text of Evgeniy Schwartz’s play “Shadow,” the production of which also aroused interest among classmates and teachers.
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Kirill Serebrennikov in his youth
In 1987, the young man went to get an education - to enroll in the directing department in Moscow. But the course director, Anatoly Vasilyev, refused the applicant because Serebrennikov was 17 years old at the time. Then he entered the physics department of Rostov State University, studied easily and graduated from the university with honors.
Later, Kirill chose the theatrical path. There was no inspiration from above, he just organized a student theater at the university, staged plays as a director and realized that he got pleasure not from physics, but from creativity.
After university, Kirill decided to become a professional director. He started with Studio 69, which worked on the enthusiasm of its creators. In parallel with his theatrical experiences, he worked for Rostov television companies, filmed video clips, television plays, and commercials.
(M) student, 2014, Gogol Center
One of the latest productions by Kirill Serebrennikov is a play by German playwright Marius von Mayenburg , which was clearly not chosen by chance. It is too in tune with Russian realities, which Serebrennikov continues to explore, comprehend, and to which Serebrennikov pronounces an artistic and civil verdict from performance to performance. A social drama on the verge of a philosophical parable, a story about the notorious “insulting the feelings of believers” and a reflection on the harm of any fanaticism, an episode from the life of teenagers and the life of Christ within the walls of a secondary school. In the leading role - the boy Veniamin, who at first refuses to attend swimming for religious reasons, and then, having memorized the Bible, declares a holy war on his classmates and teachers - Gogol Center star Nikita Kukushkin .
Here are topical topics, such as the need for lessons on the history of religions and the ban on propaganda of non-traditional sexual orientation, and the eternal dispute between creationists and evolutionists, and the story of a savior - with boards scattered across the stage, from which Benjamin will at some point put together a cross. Kirill Serebrennikov does not answer questions, but rather gives food for thought and reminds once again that it is not so important whether he is an atheist or a believer, the main thing is to be a conscious citizen. And in this sense, von Mayenburg’s play turns out to be ideal material for the tribune theater created by Kirill Serebrennikov. Scene from the play "(M)Student". Photo: Gogol Center press service / Alex Yoku
Personal life
Serebrennikov’s personal life is a closed topic that he does not cover even on social networks, including Instagram and Facebook. According to some media reports, the man is married, but nothing is known about his wife, and her photos do not appear on the Internet. We only know that she is the daughter of a Moscow theater director. Serebrennikov completely trusts his wife’s opinion. However, there is no official confirmation of this information.
Internet users often raise doubts about Kirill’s traditional sexual orientation, although they do not present any supporting facts. At the same time, they boldly call the director a representative of the gay theater lobby.
A man does not eat meat because he feels sorry for animals. In his free time from work, he enjoys doing yoga. Serebrennikov is also a shopaholic: he brings new clothes from every trip.
Theater
Serebrennikov staged his debut performance in the professional theater at Engagement in 1990. Kirill collaborated with this theater for 5 years. The performances were received ambiguously. In 1995, local masters criticized “Little Tragedies” on the stage of the Rostov Drama Theater, leaving no stone unturned. Time passed, and many changed their minds - they are proud that they once worked with Kirill.
At one point, the director realized that he needed to move to Moscow. For two years after that he worked on television. Together with Alla Demidova he created the television project “Dark Alleys” for the “Culture” channel. After a while, he appeared on camera again, this time on the TV-3 channel in the author’s program “Another Cinema,” and then on STS he appeared as a TV host of the talk show “Details.”
The start of his career in the capital was given by the play “Plasticine”, which Kirill staged at the Central House of Artists by M. Roshchin and A. Kazantsev. None of the directors wanted to stage the play by Vasily Sigarev, a student of the Ural playwright Nikolai Kolyada. In one of his interviews, Serebrennikov said that after reading the play he realized that it needed to be played differently.
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Kirill Serebrennikov and Oleg Tabakov
He took a risk because no one in Moscow knew the author of “Plasticine”; the new Russian drama was not in fashion. The performance was not accepted for six months, journalists “teared” it to the media, and the audience left without watching it to the end. But at some point everything changed, and people went to the theater, their anger and criticism were replaced with mercy. Today “Plasticine” is called a cult production, a social breakthrough.
With growing interest in the performance, Serebrennikov’s recognition also grew. Oleg Tabakov invited him to his theater, where the director staged the performances “Terrorism”, “Bourgeois”, “Playing the Victim”, “The Threepenny Opera”.
In 2005, Sovremennik hosted the premiere of Kirill Serebrennikov’s production of “The Naked Pioneer,” based on the novel by Mikhail Kononov. The main role went to Chulpan Khamatova, the director called her a national treasure.
A year later, Kirill appeared in the studio of the “School of Scandal” program and told how each of his theatrical productions becomes an event, triumphant or scandalous.
Published by Gogol-Center / Gogol-Center Saturday, December 30, 2020
Kirill Serebrennikov at the Gogol Center Theater
In 2012, Kirill Semenovich became the artistic director of the Gogol Center, and in 2015 he headed this theater. His performances “Dead Souls”, “Idiots”, “Ordinary History” were performed on stage.
At the end of 2020, the premiere of Serebrennikov’s new production “Stalin’s Funeral” took place at the Gogol Center. Thus, the director recalled that on the day of farewell to the tyrant, which ended in a deadly stampede, the world said goodbye to another person - composer Sergei Prokofiev, to whom much fewer people came.
Kirill Serebrennikov is the winner of the prestigious theater awards “Chaika”, “Crystal Turandot”, named after. K. S. Stanislavsky. In 2008, the director was invited to join the teaching staff of the Moscow Art Theater School, where Kirill completed the course, graduates joined the troupe of the Seventh Studio, and then the main cast of the Gogol Center.
Just being a director and teacher is not enough for Serebrennikov. Together with colleagues Evgeny Mironov, Chulpan Khamatova, Teodor Currentzis and Roman Dolzhansky, he launched the “Territory” festival. In 2011, he founded the “Platform” project at the Winzavod Center for Contemporary Art.
Author's works of director Kirill Serebrennikov: what to watch
While one of the most prominent theater directors is under house arrest, his productions continue to be popular with audiences. Kirill Serebrennikov’s works include not only dramatic performances, but also ballet and opera. His works are united by an up-to-date interpretation of the classics, the courage of its presentation and effective framing. His performances are performed at leading venues in Moscow and receive recognition on tours abroad. This review presents a complete list of the Moscow works of the director of the current repertoire.
photo: Grigory Sobchenko
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" / Gogol Center
photo: gogolcenter.com
The same performance that allegedly did not take place, according to investigators. But it exists, and twice a year – in winter and summer – it appears in the theater’s repertoire. The texts of Shakespeare's comedy are placed in modern reality in the mouths of schoolchildren, workers, the media elite and the powers that be. The performance takes place in three spaces of the Gogol Center. The viewer, led by forest spirits, takes a tour through the realities of different social strata of society.
“Dead Souls” / Gogol Center
Initially, this performance was staged in a Latvian theater, and only four years later it received a Russian version. Kirill Serebrennikov placed collective images of the Russian people in one chipboard box. And into this Russian flavor a foreign spirit bursts into the person of Chichikov with the intention of outwitting everyone. But that was not the case. The director projects on Gogol's “The Players,” thereby encouraging the audience to watch intently to see who will outwit whom. “Rus, what do you want from me?” - all the characters, who are played in this performance only by the male cast of the troupe, ask in the finale.
“Akhmatova. Poem without a hero" Gogol Center
photo: gogolcenter.com
Joint directorial work of Kirill Serebrennikov and Alla Demidova as part of the “Star” project. Alla Demidova's poetic solo performance based on Anna Akhmatova's poem reflects the cultural layer of an era that has sunk into oblivion. The production is compiled from fragments of “Poem without a Hero”, “Requiem” and Alla Demidova’s book “Akhmatov’s Mirrors”. The performance gains integrity due to the musical and multimedia framing, as well as the deep inner experience of the material by Alla Sergeevna.
"Idiots" Gogol Center
photo: gogolcenter.com
This season’s “returnee” to the stage of the Gogol Center in a new edition for new life circumstances. This performance is based on the film by Lars von Trier, only the action has been transferred to modern Moscow. The characters' remarks are harsh and accusatory, but metaphorical, which encourages the viewer to think associatively. Who are the idiots really? – the artists persistently encourage you to think for two and a half hours.
“Ordinary History” Gogol Center
photo: gogolcenter.com
The play is about Moscow, with its temptations and obstacles, with its opportunities and their absence. About Moscow outside Russia, with its separate rules and the concept of subordination. The main character, like many, goes to the capital in search of a better life and faces its harshness and obstacles. This production finds a lively response in the souls of those who came in large numbers.
“Little tragedies” Gogol Center
photo: gogolcenter.com
The production is based on four plays by Pushkin: “Mozart and Salieri”, “The Miserly Knight”, “The Stone Guest” and “A Feast in the Time of Plague”, placed in modern realities. This performance was released after the arrest of the director. The final credits sound like a premonition, and the work itself looks like a warning: the fourth part is what theater will be like if you tie the directors’ wings.
"Machine Muller" Gogol Center
photo: gogolcenter.com
Kirill Serebrennikov introduces the Russian audience to the work of the German playwright Heiner Müller. The performance is based on the plays “Hamlet the Machine” and “Quartet”, as well as letters and diary entries. Star cast: Konstantin Bogomolov, Sati Spivakova and Alexander Gorchilin. This work is a harmony of mental and physical nudity, literary straightforwardness and musical beauty.
“Who Lives Well in Rus'” Gogol Center
photo: gogolcenter.com
The production consists of three parts, each of which is a separate, self-contained performance. In this work, Kirill Semenovich points out the ineradicability of the problems of Mother Rus' from century to century, emphasizes cultural stereotypes and finds relevant expression for Nekrasov’s texts. This performance simultaneously entertains the viewer and encourages him to think about his own happiness. And during the intermission there is a special surprise prepared.
"Kafka" Gogol Center
Playwright Valery Pecheykin wrote a play for this performance with great reverence for Franz Kafka, and the director wove a fine literary lace from this material. Depending on the degree of familiarity with the author’s work, each viewer will see his own performance. At the center of the action is journalist Otto Pieck, who tells in detail the story of Kafka’s life and career. And the main character himself is silent in the play, because no recordings of his voice have survived.
"(M)disciple" Gogol Center
photo: gogolcenter.com
Kirill Serebrennikov's staging of the play by the German playwright Marius von Mayenburg. The main theme of the play is religious obsession, driven to madness and tormenting those around him. The director demonstrates what happens when religion becomes manipulation, terrorism, acute intolerance and a pass to permissiveness. Two years after the premiere of the play, Kirill Semenovich filmed this work.
"Metamorphoses" Gogol Center
photo: gogolcenter.com
It is not often that this performance appears in the Gogol Center's repertoire. A joint production by Kirill Serebrennikov and French director David Bobet. Ovid's texts sound against the backdrop of a junkyard of charred cars in the metropolis. All the horrors of the myths of the ancient Roman poet are combined with modern life through plastic art, music and video installations.
"Forest" MAT
photo: E. Tsyetkova
Classic production of Ostrovsky's classic play. However, in skillful hands and with a bright cast, this work acquires liveliness and a relevant sound. Humor with a reference to modern realities evokes a strong reaction from the audience. The play is about the price of money, love and freedom, about the difficult choice between position in society and vocation.
“Zoyka’s apartment” MAT
A bright, unusual musical comedy, completely different from other – acutely social – productions by Kirill Semenovich. The main highlight of the performance is the scenography and video installations, which make it possible to connect several playing spaces in the space of the stage. A highly professional cast and unusual performance decisions turn this production into an unforgettable performance.
“The Pillowman” MAT
photo: N. Simonov
A sold-out small stage performance, tickets for which are sold out every month a couple of hours after the start of sales. Year of production - 2007. The performance based on the play by Martin McDonagh will not leave indifferent fans of the works of Tarantino and Hitchcock, as well as any other viewer. This acute psychological detective story keeps the audience in suspense and hope until the very last scene.
“Chaadky” Helikon-opera
photo: helikon.ru
The performance is a winner of the “Golden Mask” in the “Opera/Director’s Work” category. The immortal comedy “Woe from Wit” is transported to the present day, framed by modern music and bold direction. This opera is a clear illustration of today's Moscow world, divided by a gulf into rich and poor, and Mr. Chaadsky makes you think about it.
"Hero of Our Time" Bolshoi Theater
photo: D. Yusupov
One can expect any bold moves in performances from Kirill Serebrennikov, so a classic production based on a book is surprising. This ballet does not refract the classic texts to modern issues. However, the peculiarity of the work is three completely different actions. The first is classical ballet in its purest form, the second is built at the intersection of ballet and contemporary, and the third is more reminiscent of a dramatic performance. And each part has its own Pechorin.
"Nureyev" Bolshoi Theater
photo: D. Yusupov
The ballet that might not have happened. A ballet that won four Benois de la Danse 2020 awards (ballet Oscar). The story of the fate of the famous dancer Rudolf Nureyev, who scandalously left the USSR and received worldwide recognition. The ballet begins with an auction. Each lot has its own story. Each person who knew Nureyev has his own memory. The ballet has three casts of the title role, and these are three completely different Nureyevs, three sides of a multifaceted personality. Those who want to embrace the immensity should see all three variations.
Text Maria Kulikovskaya
Movies
Serebrennikov came to cinema in 1998. In one year, the director presented three full-length films at once - “Undressed”, “Swallow” and “Secrets of the Thunderstorm”. Among Kirill’s film works from the initial period of his cinematic biography is the serial film “Rostov-Papa”, where Natalya Gundareva, Boris Shcherbakov, Sergei Nikonenko, Ingeborga Dapkunaite played.
In 2006, the director gave fans the painting “Playing the Victim.” At the Kinotavr and Festa del Cinema festivals, this film received the main prizes. It was created based on the play by the Presnyakov brothers. The main character Valya (Yuri Chursin), after graduating from university, gets a job in the police as a person portraying crime victims during investigative experiments. But at the end of the story, Valya himself becomes a criminal.
Today is the birthday of my close friend, a talented director, a very generous and honest person, Kirill...
Published by Chulpan Khamatova / Wednesday, September 6, 2020
Kirill Serebrennikov and Chulpan Khamatova
In 2008, Kirill shot the film “St. George’s Day,” which collected a harvest of prizes at Western film festivals, but did not receive a single local film award. In Russia, there was almost no talk about this project until the director was invited to the scandalous show “Closed Screening”. The main character of the story, the popular opera singer Lyubov (Ksenia Rappoport), travels with her son Andrei (Roman Shmakov) to her small homeland. While visiting the museum, the son disappears forever.
Among the director’s works is a film novella from the film “Short Circuit”, in the creation of which directors Pyotr Buslov, Ivan Vyrypaev, Alexey German Jr. and Boris Khlebnikov also participated.
Serebrennikov’s notable directorial work is the film “Betrayal,” in which actors from Germany, Macedonia and Russia starred. Another of his works is the film “The Apprentice,” filmed in 2020. The film received an award at Kinotavr and the Cannes Film Festival. In the same year, Serebrennikov’s second acting experience in cinema took place. The director starred with his colleague Ilya Naishuller in the action movie “Hardcore”, where he played a tank driver.
Criminal case
In 2020, a criminal case was opened against the director, in which he was accused of embezzling public funds allocated for Seventh Studio projects. This scandal became known at the end of May, when searches began in Serebrennikov’s apartment in Moscow and in the Gogol Center. At first, the director was involved in the case as a witness; after the arrest of the accountant and a number of theater managers, charges were brought against Kirill that it was he who stole money.
The director was placed under house arrest. Colleagues stood up for the master, including Russian artists Chulpan Khamatova, Vladimir Urin, Evgeny Mironov, Sergei Yursky and foreign actors Cate Blanchett, Nina Hoss, Simon McBurney, Sophie Calle.
Without Serebrennikov’s participation, the premiere of the play “Nureyev” took place at the Bolshoi Theater, and in “Gogol” based on Alexander Pushkin. For the latter, Serebrennikov received the Golden Mask. In February 2020, the director suffered a great loss - his mother died in Rostov. The man was released from custody for the duration of the funeral.
Trailer for Kirill Serebrennikov’s film “Betrayal”
Then it became known that the director’s latest film, “Summer,” about the life and work of Viktor Tsoi, was included in the competition program of the Cannes Film Festival. He edited the drama while he was already under house arrest. The main roles in the film were played by Theo Yu, Roman Bilyk, Irina Starshenbaum.
He released the play “Baroque” while at home in December 2018. And in the fall, he presented the first production of the Mobile Art Theater, “1000 Steps with Kirill Serebrennikov,” which allowed fans of creativity to live for an hour and a half the life of a director under house arrest.
During this period, more than one trial was held, examinations were ordered in the case of the theft of 133 million rubles, and Serebrennikov’s speeches at the meetings were published on the website of the Ekho Moskvy radio. The final verdict has not yet been made, but Kirill hopes that he will be acquitted. And he calls the accusations brought against himself a farce, absurdity and lawlessness.
Trailer for Kirill Serebrennikov’s film “Summer”
Although representatives of the investigation argued that Kirill could hide from law enforcement agencies or put pressure on witnesses, the court decided to lift his house arrest and refused to take a recognizance not to leave the place from the director.
As soon as the house arrest was lifted, he returned to his native Gogol Center and immediately began work. In the spring of 2020, in honor of Alla Pugacheva’s 70th birthday, a gala evening was held there. In addition to the birthday girl, his guests of honor were Kristina Orbakaite, Kirill Serebrennikov, Nadezhda Mikhalkova and many others.
In September of the same year, Kirill received an invitation to the GQ Awards, winning the “Person of the Year” category. Like Yuri Dud, when he was presented with the statuette, he spoke negatively about the current government, for which he was criticized by the news anchors of the Rossiya 24 channel. However, commentators supported the winners, leaving comments under the video that they completely agreed with those who spoke out.
“Figaro. Events of one day"
Theater of Nations
All the same conversations about power, propaganda and national strife, but this time in the form of comedy. Serebrennikov slightly modernized Beaumarchais’s play, which is usually called the cliche “mirror of our days” - he diluted the social chatter of the 18th century with expressions like “damn” and “in kind”, at the same time dressing the characters Evgeny Mironov, Yulia Peresild, Liya Akhedzhakova and Avangard Leontyev in the current fashion . Figaro is a glass of good champagne that you can afford on a weekday evening.
Photo: Ekaterina Tsvetkova; Ira Polyarnaya; Alex Yocu
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Kirill Serebrennikov now
Despite the fact that Serebrennikov is now under investigation, he continues to work at the Gogol Center, regularly delighting fans with new projects. The only thing that prevented him from implementing his plans was the coronavirus pandemic, which swept the whole world at the beginning of 2020. The man even managed to release a new film called “Petrovs in the Flu.”
Nevertheless, Serebrennikov does not despair and even during self-isolation finds something to do. The director compiled a list of 10 tips for staying at home during quarantine and decided to share his experience with subscribers.
