Meyerhold, Theatre and the Russian Avant-garde

The film Meyerhold, Theatre and the Russian Avant-garde, grew out of the Mayakovsky film.Meyerhold's task was to combine the three dimensionality of the actors body with the flat two dimensionality of the set design. In order to solve this problem he turned to the developments in the graphic experiments of the Russian avant-garde, people like …

Kandinsky and the Russian House

After a long and torturous route this film has finally been completed and released on Amazon as DVD. It is the sixth film in a series about the Russian avant-garde by Copernicus Films and the director Michael Craig. The film took longer than expected for many reasons. Firstly it was necessary to interrupt the editing …

Alexander Rodchenko and the Russian Avant-garde

About the photography of Alexander Rodchenko and the making of this film in Moscow.By Michael Craig When I began to make films in Russia in the mid 1990s, I was prepared for all kinds of problems but none of the problems I subsequently encountered. I had already worked in the UK for many years in …

Mayakovsky

Mayakovsky was probably the most problematical film to make from a number of points of view. Firstly Mayakovsky's poetry is very specific and avant-garde although there are some very good translations in English. However I wanted to retain the original Russian to preserve the original rhythm of his poetry and this caused considerable problems. I …

New Films in Series "The Russian Avant-garde"

In addition to the four films already released about the Russian Avant-garde of the 1920s and 30s, Copernicus Films is releasing two further films in the series "The Russian Avant-garde" which are now in post production. "David Burliuk and the Japanese Avant-garde" will be ready for release on DVD in a month. The film charts …

New Films in Series "The Russian Avant-garde"

In addition to the four films already released about the Russian Avant-garde of the 1920s and 30s, Copernicus Films is releasing two further films in the series "The Russian Avant-garde" which are now in post production. "David Burliuk and the Japanese Avant-garde" will be ready for release on DVD in a month. The film charts …

Tarkovsky and Time

Watching many films which use slow motion for effect gives rise to the question of time in film making. Tarkovsky seemed to be able to create time in his films, to slowdown time, speed up time and play with the concept of time in general exploring its dimensions character through the lens of the camera …

Copernicus Films

Copernicus Films operates out of Russia making documetary films and was created by Michael Craig. At the moment we are completing a series of films about the Russian Avant-garde of the 1920s and 30s including films about Mayakovsky, Alexander Rodchenko, Meyerhold and Russian Avant-garde architecture as well as other figures of the Russian Avant-garde. All …