The little daughter of Valery Todorovsky and Evgenia Brik starred in Hollywood

Biography

Valery Todorovsky was born into a cinematic family: his father, Pyotr Todorovsky, is a classic of Soviet and Russian cinema, his mother is a famous producer.
From early childhood, the father took his son to filming. It is not surprising that in the end Todorovsky Jr. chose a cinematic fate. “My dad has no principles of education. He gave me a lot of freedom, and I spent a wonderful childhood in the beautiful city of Odessa. And then we moved to the capital. Dad was always very busy, making films, was constantly away, and I lived on my own... And yet, probably, my father was able to convey to me some important things about this life, but he did it very unobtrusively. I wanted to become just like dad. Having learned about this, my father said that I couldn’t count on his help,” Valery Todorovsky recalls his childhood.

The first attempt to enter the VGIK department of directing failed. Then he went to study at the screenwriting department, taking a course from the talented teacher and screenwriter Kira Paramonova.

Movie

Of course, Valery Todorovsky, whose films are so loved and revered by Soviet and Russian viewers, always emphasized the authority and significance of Russian cinema. He always perceived the film set as a springboard for the implementation of various kinds of ideas. At the same time, he always tried to make films with meaning that make the viewer think about life values.

At some point, Todorovsky focuses on working on television, when a huge number of TV series began to appear. And, although he already had experience in this direction of the film industry, having once filmed the series “Kamenskaya,” he intends to develop his talent. As a result, he produced a whole arsenal of high-quality series, including: “The Diary of a Murderer”, “Brigade”, “Lines of Fate”, “The Red Chapel”, “Men Don’t Cry”.

Producer

In the perestroika 90s, when independent commercial studios began to appear, Todorovsky, together with two like-minded people and friends, organized their own production studio (Todorovsky, Tolstunov, Livnev). His debut production work was the film “Kix”. The director of the film was Sergei Livnev.

In 2005, Todorovsky, together with Leonid Lebedev and Vadim Goryaninov, founded his own cinema. In the same year, he became a co-producer of the series “The Master and Margarita” by Yuri Kara. The film immediately became popular, dispelling with its release the dark myth about the impossibility of filming Bulgakov’s most mysterious work.

The production work of Valery Petrovich deserves special attention. His track record includes such masterpieces as the TV series “Kamenskaya”, “Women in a Game Without Rules”, “Brigade”, the film adaptation of Dostoevsky’s novel “The Idiot” and many others.

Among the full-length films produced by Todorovsky, it is worth highlighting the films “Kandahar”, “The Geographer Drank the Globe Away”, “Piranha Hunt”, “Nine Days Until Spring”, “Poddubny”, “Life on Borrow”...

In 2020, Valery Todorovsky acted as a producer of the series “Optimists”. “Anton Zlatopolsky, who heads the Rossiya TV channel, turned to me and told me that he had a certain script, they would like to develop it and subsequently film it. He gave it to me to read, then the project was called “Moscow Time,” and suggested that I think about who could film it and in what form. Then I came up with the idea of showing it to director Alexei Popogrebsky, and he became interested. Then we began to finalize the script, sat for a year - Mikhail Idov, Elena Vanina, Sasha Vasnetsova, my editor and Popogrebsky himself. That’s how this project came about,” says Valery.

Creative path

In 1986, together with Andris Kolbergs, Valery became the author of the script for the drama “Double” about two twin brothers who were abandoned by their mother in the maternity hospital. A year later, in collaboration with Vladimir Makanin, he created the literary basis for the film “A Man from the Retinue”; in 1988, in partnership with Oleg Fialko, he became the screenwriter of the film “The Scourge of God.”

Valery Todorovsky in his youth In 1990, based on the scripts of the novice filmmaker, the dramatic film “Gambrinus”, created on the basis of the work of the same name by Alexander Kuprin, as well as “The Sea Wolf” based on the famous novel by Jack London, were released. He was also able to launch his first project, “Hearse,” as a director, which was awarded the Grand Prix of the IFF in Mannheim, Germany, and a number of other film awards.

Valery Todorovsky became one of the creators of the producer. In the same period, with Igor Tolstunov and Sergei Livnev, he created the producer. He repeatedly emphasized in interviews that the tasks of a producer when creating films are “extremely interesting,” including selecting the only necessary people - a screenwriter, director, actors who could correctly embody their ideas.

The list of Pyotr Todorovsky's film works as a producer includes many highly rated films and TV series. The first production project of the TTL team was the film Kix. Subsequently, Todorovsky’s list of works as a producer included many highly rated films and TV series: “Lines of Fate”, “Children under 16...”, “Brigade”, “Butterfly Kiss”, “Kamenskaya”, “Count of Montenegro”, “Idiot”, “ Poddubny" and others.

The second picture created by Valery Todorovsky the director was the film “Love.” The second picture created by Valery Todorovsky the director was the film “Love,” which told about the stages of development of this feeling - from the quenching of carnal desire to tender affection and compassion. For this work, which defined the film style of 1991 (according to experts), he received the Press Prize. He invited the previously little-known Evgeniy Mironov to play the role of the key character in it.

Vladimir Mashkov and Ingeborga Dapkunaite in Valery Todorovsky’s film “Moscow Evenings” The director helped Vladimir Mashkov become more in demand in the profession when he invited him to his 1994 project “Moscow Evenings”, based on Nikolai Leskov’s story “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk”. He also invited Ingeborga Dapkunaite, who at that time had been idle for about four years, to star in this film.

Most of Todorovsky’s works received a number of awards and prizes. Among the actors who became popular after the release of his poignant film “Country of the Deaf” in 1998, based on the story “Own and Belong” by Renata Litvinova, were Chulpan Khamatova and Dina Korzun. The film work again did not go unnoticed, receiving a number of awards, including the Grand Prix of the Vivat Cinema of Russia festival in the Northern capital, the Golden Aries and the Seattle International Film Festival Award.

Valery Petrovich Todorovsky is a director, producer and screenwriter recognized by the world film community. During the period 1995-1999. he was a member of the board of the studio. M. Gorky, since 2000 - Deputy General Director for Film Production of the RTR Channel, from 2001 to 2002 he hosted the “Panorama Cinema” program. In the same year, the premiere of his film “The Lover” took place with Oleg Yankovsky and Sergei Garmash in key roles, which received the Grand Prix at Kinotavr and two IFF awards in San Sebastian. Master class from director Valery Todorovsky Since 2003, the director served as an adviser head of the RTR TV channel. In addition, he made a second attempt (again unsuccessful) to get into the directing department of the Higher Courses of Film and Television at VGIK.

Valery Todorovsky, Elena Yakovleva and Leonid Yarmolnik during the filming of the film “My Step Brother Frankenstein” A year later, his dramatic film “My Step Brother Frankenstein” was released. She received the Grand Prix of the Kinotavr Film Festival and the Presidential Award for the acting ensemble, which included such stars of Russian cinema as Leonid Yarmolnik, Elena Yakovleva, Irina Sokolova, Daniil Spivakovsky.

Valery Todorovsky became a co-founder of the cinema. In 2005, in partnership with Vadim Goryaninov and Leonid Lebedev, he founded the cinema. This year was also marked by the release of the film “The Master and Margarita”, which became his largest film production work.

On the set of the film “Hipsters” In 2008, the Rossiya channel showed another work by Todorovsky, “Hipsters”. Its central character, Komsomol activist Mels (Anton Shagin), has become a “hip”, and therefore a “traitor,” according to “commissar” Katya (Evgenia Brik). Faced with an alluring world where they wore outfits of stunning styles and colors, and danced jazz, he could not resist - he fell in love with the queen of the party, the dazzling Benefit (Oksana Akinshina), and began to live a new life.

Valery Todorovsky on the set of the series “The Thaw” In 2013, Channel One started showing the television series “The Thaw,” dedicated to filmmakers of the 1960s, including his father, Pyotr Efimovich. According to the author of the project, who first acted as director of the series, he wanted to create a picture “about complex and contradictory people.” The roles of key characters on the screen were played by Evgeny Tsyganov, Anna Chipovskaya, Victoria Isakova, Alexander Yatsenko, Mikhail Efremov.

Valery Todorovsky and Alisa Freindlikh on the set of the film “Bolshoi”In 2017, fans of Todorovsky’s talent could watch his new film “Bolshoi” with Margarita Simonova and Alisa Freindlikh, which told about the secret world of the backstage of the famous theater, about sacrificial labor, self-denial, traditions and emotions .Valery Todorovsky in the “Callout” program During the same period, the master of cinema became one of the producers of the series “Optimists” about diplomats of the 1960s, where the central characters were embodied by Vladimir Vdovichenkov, Artem Bystrov, Severiya Janusauskaite, Evgenia Brik.

Director

In 1990, the first film directed by Valery Todorovsky, “Hearse,” was released. This was his debut, and a very successful one. His next film in 1991, entitled “Love,” starred the previously unknown young actor Yevgeny Mironov. In 1994, the director, in his film “Moscow Nights”, rediscovered Ingeborg Dapkunaite to the viewer, calling her to film when the actress lived in London. With his light hand, after the film “Country of the Deaf” (1998), Chulpan Khamatova, Dina Korzun, Maxim Sukhanov received a lucky ticket to the cinema. “It always seems to me that in addition to the popular ones, there are also a lot of unknown, but very talented actors, and not only in Moscow. I want to try everyone. Of course, this is impossible, but I am absolutely sure that for any role there is always an ideal performer somewhere. A mistake can cost the film a failure,” says the director.

In 2004, the film “My Step Brother Frankenstein” was released. The hero of the film, Pavlik Zakharov, whose role was brilliantly played by Daniil Spivakovsky, returned from a hot spot where he lost his eye and his mind. He comes to Moscow for an operation and comes to the house of his father, who had no idea about the existence of an adult son. Pavel cannot get rid of the war, knock it out of his head. At some point he becomes dangerous to others. Essentially, this film is a modern version of the novel about Dr. Frankenstein's monster. True, Valery Todorovsky assures that he was not chasing the situation, it was just a coincidence: the picture turned out to be in tune with real life events.

In 2008, the Rossiya TV channel presented the film “Hipsters.” The main character, a Komsomol member Mels, lives like everyone else and thinks that he is happy. Until one day he encounters the world of dudes - incomprehensible, dangerous and alluring. People wear clothes here in stunning colors. They dance to the wrong music. There are the most beautiful girls in this world! And among them is the queen of the party, the dazzling, inaccessible, daring Polly-Pole. The one for which Mels decides to become different.

An interesting work by Valery Todorovsky was the television series “The Thaw,” which was first shown in December 2013. The heroes of the twelve-episode film are Soviet filmmakers who lived in the 1960s. The series instantly became popular and received many awards, including a special prize from the Council of the Russian Academy of Cinematographic Arts “Nika” for 2013.

In 2020, director Todorovsky finished filming a new film under the working title “Big”. It is known that this is a film about ballet, about the life of the Bolshoi Theater troupe and about three girl ballerinas and their fate in the period from 10 to 25 years. Fans of Todorovsky's talent are eagerly awaiting the release of this film. In an interview with MK, Valery said: “A lot has happened at the Bolshoi Theater recently. The ballet dancers themselves say that this is a place that attracts you. Everyone needs the Bolshoi Theater, but it doesn’t need anyone. This is an eternal story. People come and go, but passions continue to boil and continue to boil. Everything momentary will dissolve and be forgotten in a year. But the theater will stand, and everything will continue. I'm interested in the story of how fundamental things in this world are preserved."

Cinema

The actress's film debut turned out to be very successful. She played in Valery Akhadov's drama “Moscow Elegy”. This is a story about the complicated relationships in the family of a folk artist. Evgenia played the role of the daughter-in-law of the main character, who dreams of going abroad, and she herself falls in love with a student. In 2003, for this work she was awarded the “Blashes” television feature film festival award in the “Debut” category. The film stars: Mikhail Ulyanov, Irina Kupchenko, Svetlana Nemolyaeva, Ada Rogovtseva.

This was followed by roles in the popular TV series “Turkish March” (Anastasia) and “Kamenskaya” (Oksana).

In 2004, director Valery Todorovsky (Evgenia’s future husband) began filming the action-packed film “Philip’s Bay.” The main character of the film, Philip Ronin, a former investigative officer who finds himself at the center of a criminal showdown, was played by Konstantin Khabensky. And Todorovsky entrusted the role of his partner, journalist Nastya Gromova, to Evgenia Khirivskaya. As the actress herself admitted, Khabensky made an indelible impression on her - a calm, intelligent man with warmth in his eyes, and absolutely not arrogant. Therefore, it was easy and pleasant to play with him.

The serial melodrama “Matryoshka” also brought success to Evgenia. It tells the story of the misadventures of a group of girls who are lured into brothels with the promise of careers as dancers. But they do not give up, using the slightest opportunity that could return their freedom. Zhenya played one of the girls nicknamed Kalinka.

The actress's popularity was also increased by her roles as Slavka in the adventure film "Count of Montenegro", where her partner was Alexander Domogarov, and Yana in Vadim Shmelev's thriller "S.S.D."

"Vise"

In 2006, Valery Todorovsky began creating the painting “Hipsters” (at that time they were still listed as “Boogies on Bones”). But then filming was postponed, and the director, who did not want to lose actors, made another film with the same cast - “Vise”. This is an action-packed drama with chases and shooting. In the center is the story of two friends who decide to make extra money and get involved with drugs. In addition to the “Hipster” team (Anton Shagin, Maxim Matveev, Ekaterina Vilkova, Igor Voinarovsky), Fyodor Bondarchuk and Alexey Serebryakov starred in the film. Evgenia Khirivskaya got the role of Taya, a seductive girl, the sister of a mafioso named Werner (Fyodor Bondarchuk).

"Hipsters"

The sensational musical melodrama “Hipsters” by Todorovsky was released at the end of 2008, and the actress starred in this film under a new name. The plot is based on the story of an exemplary Komsomol member Mels (Anton Shagin), who meets a girl from the world of dudes (Oksana Akinshina). After this, completely different colors appear in his gray life.

Evgenia Brik played the ideological Komsomol member Katya. She managed to very organically immerse herself in the era of the 50s: “I think you can live your whole life in this profession and never play something like this - I mean my Katya in Hipsters.” I just got my piece of happiness. I was almost one hundred percent immersed in that time. The costume helped a lot: for example, we found real stockings from the 1940s-50s, real underwear: a cone-shaped bra, like Marilyn Monroe, pantaloons, a slip on top, and then a skirt, a blouse, and a jacket... And let this not be visible in frame, but it’s a different feeling, you move differently.”

A particularly strong impression is made by the meeting scene where the main character of the film, with whom Katya is in love, is expelled from the Komsomol. The action takes place to the song “Chained by One Chain” performed by Brick.

Evgenia Brik about the casting for the film “Hipsters”: “Valera (Todorovsky) didn’t even know that his assistant called me to audition. And when I asked what he thought about this, he replied: “Come. If you play the best, I’ll take it.” And if someone thinks that by filming with my husband, I get complete indulgences, then he is very mistaken. No discounts."

Starring in the role of Katya, the actress received the prestigious Nika award for best supporting role, as well as an award for the best image of a movie villain from the MTV channel.

The beautiful, bright and extraordinary actress Evgenia Brik, whose filmography includes more than 30 works, plays the most diverse roles. This is confirmed by her images in the fantasy “Dark World: Balance”, in the social drama “The Geographer Drank the Globe Away”, in the retro drama “The Thaw”, in the biographical series about the singer Valery Obodzinsky “These Eyes Opposite”.

"Dark World: Equilibrium"

The actress admits that she was very interested in playing a woman with superpowers in the film “The Dark World: Balance”: “According to the plot, my heroine can throw lightning and knock out dark forces from the other world. On the first day of shooting, the director and I came up with a special gesture with which I cut lightning out of the air. The flame in the frame was then completed. During filming, I had the feeling that my entire role consisted of ridiculous waving of my arms. Only later, when I saw at the premiere what the animated frame looked like, I realized that everything turned out right.”

To film The Dark World, Evgenia had to radically change her image - from a brunette she turned into a blonde: “It was interesting, but blonde is not my thing. After filming, I immediately dyed my hair.”

“The geographer drank his globe away”

In Alexander Veledinsky’s film “The Geographer Drank His Globe Away,” the actress again played together with Konstantin Khabensky. This is a story about a school teacher, based on the book of the same name by Alexei Ivanov. Evgenia played the role of the German language teacher Kira Valerievna, for whom the main character shows sympathy. “Costume designer Lyudmila Gaintseva helped me a lot. She picked out an amazing wardrobe for Kira. All these hats, pencil skirts... Our goal was to create the image of a fashionable girl who has taste and a sense of style, but does not have the shopping opportunities of the capital. And, of course, the tight-fitting outfits scream that Kira is in search,” explains the actress.

Filming took place in the homeland of the author of the novel in the city of Perm. “We filmed in the same school where Alexey Ivanov himself studied. Our partners were not professional actors, but ordinary Perm schoolchildren. From beauty observations: Ural women are extremely beautiful. In my opinion, they don’t need decorative cosmetics at all. Nevertheless, they love bright makeup - they do it more carefully and intensely than Muscovites,” Zhenya smiles.

"Thaw"

Evgenia Brik told how she auditioned for the TV movie “The Thaw,” where she so boldly exposed herself in the first scene: “When I read the script for the first time, it was very interesting who would end up playing Larisa. I liked the image of Inga, but Valera (Todorovsky) immediately said that he saw another actress in this role - as a result, Vika Isakova played her perfectly. He suggested that I try out for the role of Larisa. This is an eccentric heroine who manages to experience so many emotions in one scene! First he says that he loves him, then he attacks Khrustalev (Evgeniy Tsyganov) with his fists, and then asks: “Do you want me to go out into the street naked for you?” And it comes out! That is, he uses the entire arsenal of feminine tricks! I only asked: “How are we going to film?” But Valera, of course, knowing my character, understands that this suits my nerves. Therefore, I worried in vain. I am incredibly glad that I took part in this story. By the way, it was this episode that Valera first saw in his head when he decided to make a film. It's like the first line, which by definition should be strong, shocking. The scene immediately immerses the viewer in the era of the 1960s, makes it clear what morals reigned then, how the characters lived, how they loved..."

"Those eyes are opposite"

“Zhenya was very interested in the role of Obodzinsky’s wife Nelly,” notes the producer of the film “These Eyes Opposite” Natalia Klibanova. “This woman was married to the most popular artist of the Soviet era; living with a talented and brilliant person is very difficult. And Zhenya herself is the wife of a famous director, and personal experience, I think, helped her a lot to cope with the role.”

"Friday"

The heroes of “Friday” meet on the last working day of the week in a nightclub. Evgenia clarifies: “My heroine in the film “Friday” is the wife of a psychologist who is constantly trying to resolve conflicts that break out in the family, she takes care of the weather in the house and the mood of her husband (played by the amazing Pasha Derevyanko). Her husband, in turn, is always dissatisfied with something and likes to delve into himself. For my heroine, a Friday night out at the club is a whole event when you can finally put on that same dress, show off your shoes and a new handbag. For me, this is an opportunity to “play around”, because in life I am completely different: I prefer to wear what is, first of all, comfortable. In general, the film has an excellent cast: Danya Kozlovsky, Anton Shagin, Zhenya Stychkin, Katya Shpitsa, Nastya Samburskaya...”

"Optimists"

One of the actress’s latest film works, “The Optimists,” is a dramatic story about Soviet diplomats of the 60s. Evgenia plays announcer Galina Volina, who begins an affair with the director of the information and analytical group of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Grigory Biryukov, the character of Vladimir Vdovichenkov.

The personal lives of the characters, their family troubles, career ups and downs, office romances and behind-the-scenes vendettas are just as important for the series as the main political intrigue. Through them, a portrait of the Thaw era as such is created, with all its joys, anxieties and hopes.

The film also stars: Severija Janusauskaite, Anatoly Bely, Egor Koreshkov, Rinal Mukhametov, Artem Bystrov, Margarita Adaeva, Maxim Vitorgan, Yuri Kuznetsov.

Personal life

The family and personal life of Valery Todorovsky are always closed to prying eyes. The director says almost nothing on this topic. It is only known that Valery is married for the second time. He lived with his first wife Natalya Tokareva, daughter of the writer Victoria Tokareva, for almost 20 years. From this marriage there are two children - son Peter and daughter Catherine. Todorovsky has always been considered an exemplary family man. That is why the news that he was leaving his family and leaving for another shocked many.

Valery fell in love with his current wife, actress Evgenia Brik, at the casting of one of his TV series. Later she starred in her husband’s film “Hipsters.” In 2009, Valery and Evgenia had a daughter, Zoya.

Prizes and awards

"Hearse" (1990)

Grand Prix "Golden Ducat" of the Moscow Film Festival in Mannheim, Germany (1991)
Prize of the film festival “Debut-90” (Moscow)
Special press prize

"Love" (1991)

European Feature Film Association Prize (1991)
"Prize of Peace" - Moscow Film Festival in Chicago, USA (1992)

“Moscow Evenings” (1994)

Green Apple Award for Best Film of the Year (Moscow) (1994)
Film press prize “Film that defines the film style of the year” (Moscow) (1994)

"Country of the Deaf" (1997)

Grand Prix of the VI Film Festival “Vivat, Cinema of Russia!” (St. Petersburg) (1998)
Main prize of the IV Film Forum “Silver Nail” (Sochi) (1998)

"My Stepbrother Frankenstein" (2004)

Grand Prix of the XV Open Russian Film Festival "Kinotavr" (2004)
Prize of the Guild of Film Scholars and Film Critics at the Kinotavr Film Festival (2004)
Prize for the best film of the Russian program of the XXVI Moscow International Film Festival (2004)
Prize of the FIPRESCI International Film Critics Jury at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (2004)

"Hipsters" (2008)