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Michael Lockshin (film director)

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Michael Lockshin
Михаил Локшин
Michael Lockshin
Michael Lockshin in 2024
Born1981 (age 42–43)
United States
Years active2010–present
Notable workThe Silver Skates,
The Master and Margarita

Michael Lockshin (Russian: Михаил Арнольдович Локшин; born 1981) is a film director and writer.

Early life and education

Lockshin was born in 1981 in the United States and grew up in both the United States and Russia.[1] Lockshin graduated with a MA degree in psychology from Moscow State University.[2] After graduation, Lockshin moved to London, where he began directing commercials.[2]

He is the son of the American-born scientist Arnold Lockshin, who requested asylum in the USSR in the 1980s.[3][4][5] In 1986, his family moved to the USSR from Houston.[6] He has Jewish heritage from his father's side.[7]

Personal life

According to Business Insider, Lockshin is not a Russian citizen.[8]

Career

While still studying in college, Lockshin started directing commercials and music videos. He shot commercials for over 10 years, and his spots won numerous awards, including Cannes Lions Young Director's Awards,[9] Golden Drum, and others.[10] The David Duchovny ad (2014) went viral internationally.[11][12]

Lockshin's debut feature film, Silver Skates, shot in 2019, was released theatrically Christmas 2020 in Russia to high acclaim. The movie became the first Russian-language Netflix Originals movie.[13] It premiered as the Opening Film of the Moscow International Film Festival. At the 20th Golden Eagle Awards (2021), Silver Skates was nominated for 12 awards, a record in the history of the Golden Eagle Awards, and won 6 awards, including "Best Picture".[14] Lockshin himself was nominated for Best Director.[15][16] The film also won "Best Picture" from the Association of Producers awards (APKIT), and won several awards at the Nika Awards in 2021, with Lockshin up in the category "Discovery of the Year".[17]

His second feature film The Master and Margarita, which he also co-wrote,[18] is based on Mikhail Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita, and stars German actor August Diehl.[19] The film was shot in 2021.[20] The film's release date was pushed multiple times due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and problems with funding the film's post-production.[21][8][22] Initially slated for a release by Universal Pictures on January 1, 2023, the film was ultimately released in Russia on January 25, 2024.[22]

The movie received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics,[23][24] but was targeted by nationalist activists, propagandists, and government officials, including Zakhar Prilepin, Tigran Keosayan, and Vladimir Solovyev, who complained about the director's views on the war in Ukraine, the film's anti-regime stance, and the fact that the Ministry of Culture had provided funding for a critical film, even though it was before Russia's full-scale invastion into Ukraine. They demanded a criminal investigation into the film and into Lockshin himself. This was echoed by deputies of the State Duma as well[25][26]

References

  1. ^ "Google Podcasts".
  2. ^ a b Neskorpas. "director – michael lockshin – ic.tv". IC.tv – production. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  3. ^ Lockshin, Michael (23 March 2024). "A film based on a novel about a 1930s writer gains surprise popularity in Russia" (Interview). Interviewed by Scott Simon. NPR. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  4. ^ Dolin, Anton. ""Серебряные коньки» — российский сказочный ромком с либеральными идеями от сценариста «Эпидемии"" ["The Silver Skates: a Russian fairytale rom-com with liberal ideas from the scenarist of "To the Lake"]. Meduza (in Russian). Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  5. ^ ""Мастер и Маргарита". Как развивался скандал вокруг фильма, который задумывался в одной реальности, а вышел совсем в другой" ["The Master and Margarita". How the scandal around the film, conceived in one reality and released in another, came to be]. BBC News Русская служба (in Russian). 31 January 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  6. ^ Shavrey, Andrey (3 February 2024). "Новый фильм "Мастер и Маргарита" Михаила Локшина — внезапный нож в спину российской пропаганды" [Michael Lockshin's new film "The Master and Margarita" is an unexpected knife in the back to Russian propaganda]. Novaya Gazeta (in Russian). Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  7. ^ Recer, Paul (10 October 1986). "Defector Underwent Troubling, Unexplained Change, Boss Says". AP NEWS. Archived from the original on 8 May 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  8. ^ a b Corcoran, Jason (18 August 2022). "Six months into the Ukraine war, Russia's film industry is on life support". Business Insider. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  9. ^ "Alumni: Michael Lockshin". Young Director Award. 2012-06-03. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  10. ^ Beltrone, Gabriel (2015-04-02). "Is This Strange Russian Ad With a Man Drowning the Perfect Metaphor for Social Media?". Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  11. ^ Kozlov, Vladimir (2014-07-29). "David Duchovny's Russian Beer Commercial Goes Viral (Video)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  12. ^ Vourlias, Christopher (2021-06-07). "12 Rising Russian Talents Ready for the Global Stage". Variety. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  13. ^ ""Серебряные коньки" стали первой российской полнометражкой Netflix Original". Газета.Ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  14. ^ Al'perina, Susanna (31 January 2022). "Фильм "Серебряные коньки" получил шесть наград на кинопремии "Золотой орел"" ["The film "Silver Skates" won 6 awards at the Golden Eagle awards"]. Rossiyskaya Gazeta (in Russian). Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  15. ^ "Номинанты премии «Золотой Орел» за 2021 год" ["Nominees of the Golden Eagle Awards 2021"]. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES OF RUSSIA (in Russian). Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  16. ^ "Лауреаты премии «Золотой Орел» за 2021 год" ["Winners of the Golden Eagle Awards 2021"]. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES OF RUSSIA (in Russian). Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  17. ^ "Российская кинопремия Ника 2021: Открытие года". kinonews.ru. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  18. ^ "Михаил Локшин начал работать над экранизацией "Мастер и Маргариты"" ["Michael Lockshin has begun production of a film adaptation of "The Master and Margarita]. Ria Novosti (in Russian). 20 April 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  19. ^ Grater, Tom (2021-07-22). "'A Hidden Life' Actor August Diehl Starring In $15M Russian Drama 'Woland'". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  20. ^ "Dubrovnik at the centre of a new movie production - Woland - the Dubrovnik Times".
  21. ^ Aleksander, Irina (10 August 2022). "The Russian Filmmaker Trapped Between Hollywood and Moscow, New York Times, Aug. 10, 2022". The New York Times.
  22. ^ a b Vourlias, Christopher (2024-02-02). "Why Russia's Propaganda Machine Is on the Attack Against a Blockbuster Adaptation of 'The Master and Margarita'". Variety. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  23. ^ "Рецензии на фильм Мастер и Маргарита (2024), отзывы". Критиканство (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  24. ^ Kyiv, Marc Bennetts, George Grylls and Tom Ball in (2024-03-12). "The banned writer sparking anger in Kyiv and Moscow 84 years after his death". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2024-03-12.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  25. ^ Sonne, Paul (16 February 2024). "New York Times, Life Imitates Art as a 'Master and Margarita' Movie Stirs Russia". The New York Times.
  26. ^ Roth, Andrew (2024-02-23). "'It was a very hard journey': Master and Margarita director on its unlikely Russian success". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
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