Meeting Andrei Tarkovsky

This documentary investigates the legacy of the late Russian film director Andrei Tarkovsky. It depicts my exploration of one of his most enigmatic declarations — that death doesn't exist. In addressing this issue, I depart from a central concern: what did the maestro mean when, through his films, interviews and writings, he continuously affirmed this belief? As my film progresses, I seek to understand whether it is possible to personally prove this assertion through a cinematic treatment of the director's own posthumous life.

Structurally, this film narrates through a series of interviews that gradually take me from Los Angeles to rural Russia. In Florence, for instance, Andrei Andreevich Tarkovsky shares candid memories of his father. In Stockholm, I speak with Erland Josephson, one of Sweden's most renowned actors, who reminisces about the director and the making of his only Scandinavian film, The Sacrifice (1986). Other interviews offer a plethora of perspectives on the director and his continuing presence today. My travels come to an end in the forgotten city of Yurevets, where Andrei spent parts of his childhood, including the years during WWII. As I wander the empty streets of this distant town, the mystery that this film attempts to unravel yields a final epiphany...

The director, Dmitry Trakovsky, will make a personal appearance at the screening! Screening includes a short electric guitar concert by composer and experimentalist David Kollar.