“Between one speech and the other, the Russian media reported that Emir Kusturica accepted the proposal of Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu and would become the artistic head of the Russian Army Theater in Moscow,” wrote the translator of Russian literature and an expert on Russian theater and culture, Agnieszka Lubomir Piotrowska. The minister invited the director to a meeting on Monday, and the director agreed immediately – reports Rossiayana Markovskaya, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defense,
Kusturica will lead the Russian military theater
Sergey Shoigu emphasizes that he chose a Serbian director because he has a long friendship with Russia, and the fact that the filmmaker plays an important role in “preserving and developing the most important traditions of Russian culture”. The 67-year-old Kusturica thanked the minister for his trust and was to emphasize that he was very honored by his proposal, because the Moscow Theater of the Russian Army has a long history – reports the agency
Kusturica was to emphasize that in “a world where values change very quickly” he will try to remain faithful to traditional virtues. He also revealed his first plans for his term of office: he intends to transfer several of his newer films to the stage of the theater. The pool of titles selected for the stage adaptation will also include the war drama “Life is a Miracle” about the Balkan War.
Emir Kusturica remains one of the most original European directors of the 20th century. He has been awarded the Palme d’Or three times at the Cannes Film Festival: for the 1988 film “Gypsy Time”, for “Underground” (1995) and “Life is a Miracle” (2004), he leaves the oldest film festival in Venice almost regularly with new awards . His most famous films include “Black Cat, White Cat”, “Arizona Dream” starring Johnny Depp and Faye Dunaway, and the Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film “Father on a Business Trip”. Six years ago, Emir Kusturica was awarded the Order of Friendship by Vladimir Putin. In 2005, the director was baptized in the Orthodox Church and took the name Nemanja Kusturica.
Kusturica said about Putin in 2021: “If I were English, I would be Putin’s opponent. If I were American, I would even fight him, but if I were Russian, I would vote for him.” The director also expressed his support for Russia when it annexed Crimea. Then he also toured there with his band “No Smoking Orchestra”.
Source: Gazeta
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