– As the director of the fourth season of “Pregnancy Test”, I think his name surprised many. Why did you decide to take part in the project?
– I must say honestly that I did not immediately accept this offer – I took time to think. Then I decided to give it a chance. I think the main thing for me is that there are characters and destinies in the script, so the plot is not “naked”. So I decided to try it.
– “Pregnancy test” – a project about the fate of women and childbearing. It seems that this topic may scare some men. Have you ever had a fear of undertaking such a story?
– I was not afraid to shoot about the birth because I myself am the father of many children and was present at all births. Therefore, I was not afraid.
— Was it difficult to work on a medical project? Have some actors ever learned more about medicine than you do? They’ve been immersed in this from season one, though…
— I myself grew up in a medical practice, my mother is a pediatrician. Sometimes he would drive me to work when there was no one to go to. But I’m not a doctor – the consultants helped us a lot. And of course, the actors in season four sometimes knew more than I did. They helped me with the shoot.
— Is it difficult to start working on a project with an already established community of actors?
– Probably like a football team when a new manager arrives. Here it is important to contact everyone in the first days: as soon as the artists understand that they are listened to, heard and there is contact, the fear of the “new coach” disappears, collaboration begins. .
– While working on this series, can we say that you took a break from complex projects such as “Once upon a time Deniz gets worried”?
– I wouldn’t call the creation of “Pregnancy Test” a holiday, it’s a completely different shooting process, it’s very complicated. And in some ways it was much more difficult than the author’s cinema.
– Did you make too many edits to the “Pregnancy Test” scenario?
— I think the script is the main element of the movie. No matter how good the director is, if the script lacks a certain dramaturgy and lively, human dialogue, then it will be difficult to get anything done no matter how hard you try. The script is very important. Of course, the edits were made – by myself and the creative producers, with the actor playing the main character who’s carried the character for three seasons, who obviously understands things better. As a result, it seems to me that we managed to create a new story, while simultaneously being in the same universe of the series that has already been created.
– Judging by the comments on social networks, some viewers are unhappy that the show moves away from the sick stories and focuses on the personal lives of the characters each season…
“Patient stories and the personal lives of the doctors are equally important elements for this series. So the most important thing here is to find a balance, a golden meaning in each series. Explaining doctors and patients is the most difficult in terms of dramaturgy.
– Was the project filmed in operating theatres?
– The main part of the shooting took place in the pavilion built at Mosfilm, where our offices, staff rooms and other medical facilities are located. Another part of the shooting took place in real operating rooms because it is impossible to procure such modern medical equipment in clinics. The hospital staff we shot in the operating rooms supported us – the project has so many fans, everyone tried to help us.
– One of your upcoming projects is the series “The End”, in which he plays with Alexei Serebryakov and Anna Ardova. What is this story? What stage of development is it at?
– Before the “Pregnancy Test”, I finished filming the work titled “Son”. This is a wonderful creative duo of Alexei Serebryakov and Anya Ardova. I don’t know if I can give details, but right now the project is in post-production. I hope that the work on it will be completed in the next two months and the audience will see the series.
– The script of “The Son” was written by Arif Aliyev. How did you decide to work together?
– We corrected the script with Arif Aliyev, because when this series was offered to me, it was already written somehow. As often happens, it was necessary to fix something for themselves. Reinforce some things. It’s great to work with Arif.
– Are you – mainly as a feature film director – willing to shoot a series? What do you think about the fact that the interest of the audience in this special format has not waned for a long time?
– I came to the conclusion that shooting TV series has become more interesting for me. They can also be different – copyright for example. The cinema format only makes movies interesting. While in the series there is an opportunity to tell more about destinies and characters.
– You once said that all our theater establishments are bad. Why is that? Why?
— Yes, I think most theater institutions are bad for actors. There are very few workshops where there are teachers who really teach something and don’t break it. Many teenagers are taught to play, to grimace. Then you need to fix it all on set.
As for the young directors, I personally directed the workshops. I focus on life experience. So much so that people do not just fall in love with cinema, which is important, but also has life experience. The second is to observe whether he has this feature or not. That’s why when I taught, the first assignments were always about documentary sketches.
– There are nearly 20 projects in your filmography, which is a bit too much for some directors. Are you careful when choosing your job?
— Not that little. I don’t remember ever being idle, one project starts, another ends. Currently, there are four series: “Dragon Syndrome”, “The Secret of the City”, “Pregnancy Test” and “The Only Son”. And lots of movies of different genres, I’m always interested in trying something new. There were other projects that took a lot of time but were never completed. I always approach the election from the “is there anything new for me here” perspective.
— Do you watch a lot of modern home theater?
“Unfortunately, I don’t watch a lot of movies. I once watched a lot, now physically I don’t have enough time for it. And I don’t want to separate anyone from domestic modern cinema, because if you separate one, the other may be offended.
— Besides the projects mentioned above, what is still in development?
– A rather large project is being developed, this is St. A historical series about St. Petersburg.