Manifesto

1. Art

Documentary is a form of Art.

2. Subjectivity

There is no such style of shooting and no such approach that is objective. Documentary films are always subjective. The subjectivity starts with the chosen theme, the character, with a particular camera angle, and ends with editing.

3. Lyricism

Lyricism is the acute feeling of vibration between light and sadness.
It is the presence of the soul.
There is no sense in making a film without a soul.

4. Artistic Image

The aspiration for expressive artistic images is of no less importance than the aspiration for truth itself. The creation of artistic images develops cinematic language.

5. The Train Of Eternity

The moments of being totally absorbed in some activity are the moments at which we come close to eternity. In worldly matters, eternity is almost non-existent. Yet when you are fully immersed in a given moment and nothing distracts you, there is more of it than ever. It is as if these moments of being absorbed push us beyond the boundaries of our life. When immersed in such a state, it is as if you get on the train of eternity—at your own stop and when you get off, it keeps going, eternally. You personally are finite, but you can partake in eternity that is in life.

Moments of total immersion may vary for different people. Sometimes, we are reading a book and suddenly notice that several hours have passed. This is a moment of eternity. Or a pianist comes up on the stage to perform: he is deep in his playing and doesn’t pay attention to other things around him. This is a moment of eternity, too. Likewise, when I am filming a scene, I become entirely concentrated; nothing else exists for me; I am absorbed in the movements of my observing camera, coming close to eternity.

A film should have similar stops at which the viewer can get on that train and take a ride down the road of eternity.