As we highlight the works of Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky, considered one of the greatest directors of the 20th century, as part of the library's Film Craft Celebration, a Northbrook family reached out to Fiction & Media Assistant, Aaron Ashmann with an amazing story.
Roman Verkhovski told Aaron that his father, Grigoriy Verkhovski, a Northbrook resident, had worked with filmmaker Tarkovsky in 1978 during the filming of his sci-fi art film, Stalker.
Grigoriy's photos, taken on during the filming of Stalker, have been displayed in art exhibits and museums in Russia and throughout Europe. His photos will be on display at the Northbrook Public Library at the October 23 screening of Tarkovsky’s Solaris and the October 30 screening of Stalker. Grigoriy and his family will also attend the 7:00pm screening of Stalker on Tuesday, October 30.
Born in 1942 in Kirghizia under the former Soviet Union Republic, Grigoriy had studied photography and camera operation in Moscow. According to his son Roman, “His position was cameraman assistant, but his main duties at this project was to take exposed film to lab and develop it, make color correction ... and bring it back to show it to Tarkovsky and the cameraman. That's why he had lot of time for taking pictures during filming. There was official photographer in the crew, but Grigoriy was taking pictures mostly portraits of Tarkovsky on his own.”
From 1967 to 1997, Grigoriy worked his way from a cameraman assistant to a cameraman. In 1997, after moving with his family to the United States in 1997, he participated in film work for Steven Spielberg’s Holocaust project, Survivors of the Shoah.
Tarkovsky Film Fest
Solaris (1972): In Russian language with subtitles. (Discussion following viewing)
Tuesday, October 23, 7:00 to 9:30pm, Auditorium
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Stalker (1979): In Russian language with subtitles.
Tuesday, October 30, 7:00 to 9:45pm, Auditorium
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