Saturday seminar with Svitlana Kobets, PhD
From the time of its triumphant screening at the 2014 Cannes
International Film Festival, Zvyagintsev’s film Leviathan kept receiving the highest international awards,
including the 2015 Golden Globe and 2014 Cannes Festival award for the Best
Script, yet at the same time it kept being censored and banned in the
director’s home country, Russia. Leviathan’s
opponents attempted to ban the film altogether, accusing it of Western
orientation and strong anti-Russian bias. Yet the prolonged ban achieved quite
the opposite: it heated the Russian audiences’ interest and made the film
immensely popular despite its Art House genre. Leviathan’s success, of course, cannot be reduced to its
serendipitous release and marketing benefits of censorship. It is a masterfully
crafted work of extraordinary intrinsic merits, which moves and engages as it
mesmerizes by its unforgettable imagery, superb lead performances, spellbinding
cinematography, depth and pathos of the narrative. As we discuss at our seminar
this instant classic, we will address its art and narrative as well as its
director’s idiosyncratic vision.
Date: November 14, 2015
Screening time: 9:30 am (time change alert!), lunch: 12-12:50 pm, discussion: 1-3 pm
Location: Alumni Hall, room 400, 121 St. Joseph St. M5S 1J4