ROME, April 4./TASS/. A literary-musical event marking the 90th birthday of renowned Soviet film director and screenwriter Andrey Tarkovsky was held on Monday in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the press service of the museum reported. Taking part in the event, shown on social media platforms, were gallery Director Eike Schmidt and filmmaker’s son Andrey Tarkovsky Jr, who has lived in Florence since long.
"Through his films, Tarkovsky made a contribution to the development of the entire humankind, and it is especially important to recall this," Schmidt said. He is confident that the Russian art workers should not be put on the back burner these days, since Russian culture is a large part of world culture.
The venue chosen to mark Tarkovsky’s birthday was not a random choice. "The last project that he worked on before the death was devoted to Fyodor Dostoevsky, who, for his part, was writing his 'Idiot' in the house across from Pitti Palace," he explained.
Tarkovsky’s works were read out during the event, and music was played, including pieces composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, who was among Tarkovsky’s best loved composers, by young Russian composer Ilya Demutsky and Ukrainian Valentin Silvestrov. Tarkovsky, who worked in Italy, loved Florence, Toscana, and of course, the renowned Uffizi Gallery.
"My father was never a dissident, he always condemned materialism of the society, the loss of spirituality. We have progressed in terms of technical, material development, but our spirituality froze. That is why, mistakes are made, that is why wars continue," said Tarkovsky Jr. He followed in his father’s footsteps in a way, though making documentaries as film director. His debut film was dedicated to the father. The film that shows unique data, including from the family archives, was shown at the Venice Film Festival several years ago, receiving great reviews.
It is not for the first time that the gallery turns to cinematograph. In 2017, Schmidt organized an exhibition devoted to Sergey Eisenstein, whose silent film Battleship Potemkin is ranked among the greatest films of all time. For the past few years, the museum has been engaged in an international film project, in which Russian films traditionally participate.