Aleksandr Sokurov

Biography

Aleksandr Sokurov (born June 14, 1951) is a Russian director of avant-garde and independent films that have won him international acclaim. Described as a heir to Tarkovsky, spare, gloomy and contemplative, he often blurs lines between image and world. His noticable trademark and style includes long, accurate shots of real painterly compositions, disorted field of view, zooms and use of wide angle lenses. Often plotless with emphasis on aesthetics and impressionism his films are noted for philosophical approach to history and nature. Sokurov underlines the importance of film, not to yield to the modern audience laziness, and to stay away from mere entertainment. His most significant works include a feature film, Russian Ark (2002), filmed in a single unedited shot, Mother and Son (1997) and Faust (2011), which was honoured with the Golden Lion, the highest prize for the best film at the Venice Film Festival.

Directed

1. Russian Ark (2002) — Director
2. Faust (2011) — Director
3. Mother and Son (1997) — Director
4. Francofonia (2015) — Director
5. The Sun (2005) — Director
6. Moloch (1999) — Director
7. Alexandra (2007) — Director
8. Father and Son (2003) — Director
9. Fairytale (2022) — Director
10. Taurus (2001) — Director
11. Days of Eclipse (1988) — Director
12. Whispering Pages (1994) — Director
13. The Second Circle (1990) — Director
14. Moscow Elegy (1987) — Director
15. The Lonely Voice of Man (1987) — Director
16. Stone (1992) — Director
17. Save and Protect (1990) — Director
18. Oriental Elegy (1996) — Director
19. Sonata for Hitler (1989) — Director
20. Spiritual Voices (1995) — Director
21. Maria (1988) — Director
22. Mournful Unconcern (1987) — Director
23. Elegy of a Voyage (2009) — Director
24. Soviet Elegy (1989) — Director
25. Robert. A Fortunate Life (1997) — Director
26. A Soldier's Dream (1995) — Director
27. Empire (1987) — Director
28. Dolce (2000) — Director
29. The Evening Sacrifice (1987) — Director
30. A Humble Life (1997) — Director
31. Dmitri Shostakovich. Sonata for Viola (1981) — Director
32. Patience Labour (1985) — Director
33. The Knot (1998) — Director
34. Elegy of Life: Rostropovich, Vishnevskaya (2006) — Director
35. Elegy from Russia (1993) — Director
36. Petersburg Elegy (1989) — Director
37. And Nothing More (1987) — Director
38. Reading Book of Blockade (2009) — Director
39. Elegy (1986) — Director
40. Leningrad Retrospective (1990) — Director

Also appeared in

1. Russian Ark (2002) — The Time Traveller (voice / uncredited)
2. Francofonia (2015) — (voice)
3. The Story of Film: An Odyssey (2011) — Self
4. Moscow Elegy (1987) — Narrator (voice)
5. Oriental Elegy (1996) — Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
6. Elegy of a Voyage (2009) — The Traveler (uncredited)
7. Soviet Elegy (1989) — Narrator (voice)
8. In One Breath: Alexander Sokurov's Russian Ark (2003) — Himself
9. Robert. A Fortunate Life (1997) — Narrator
10. A Soldier's Dream (1995)
11. Elegy of Life: Rostropovich, Vishnevskaya (2006) — Himself
12. The Knot (1998) — Self
13. Agnès Varda: From Here to There (2011) — Self
14. Agnès Varda: From Here to There (2011) — Self
15. And Nothing More (1987) — narrator (voice)
16. Petersburg Elegy (1989) — Narrator
17. Leningrad Retrospective (1990)
18. You Should Survive (1981)
19. Alexander Sokurov: Questions about cinema (2008) — Himself
20. The Romanovs: Glory and Fall of the Czars (2013) — Himself - Filmmaker
21. Simple Elegy (1990)
22. Voice of Sokurov (2014) — Himself
23. An Example of Intonation (1991) — Self
24. The Diary of St. Petersburg: Kozintsev's Flat (1998)
25. Alexander Sokurov. Temptation (2012)
26. Edward Shelganov visiting Sokurov (1997)
27. We Need Happiness (2010) — Narrator (voice)
28. Petersburg Diary: Kozintsev's Apartment (1998) — рассказчик, озвучка, в титрах не указан
29. Kira (2003) — Self
30. Film about the film (2013) — himself
31. Sokurov (2006) — himself
32. The Diary of St. Petersburg: Inauguration of the Monument to Dostoevsky (1997) — (voice)
33. The Art of Time (2009) — Self
34. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Lightning strikes a tall tree (2008) — Self
35. VGIK: Teachers and Students Talk About the Profession (1979)
36. Voices in the Old Walls (2019)
37. Naum. Predictions (2026) — self
38. Director's Diary (2025) — Self
39. Islands. Alexander Sokurov (2003)
40. Matussek trifft (2010) — Self