Aleksandr Balagura

Aleksandr Balagura is a Russian film director born in 1960 in Luboml. After graduating at the Department of History and Social Sciences of Kiev State University, he worked first as director's assistant and then as film director at the Ukrainian Documentary Film Studio. In 1990 his first film - "To our Brothers and Sisters" - was awarded in Florence (Italy) the Grand Prix for the Best Documentary Film in the prestigious "Festival dei Popoli". The film was made in 1989, in Demianov Laz Valley, where a mass grave from the period around the Second World War was opened and reburied. In 1991 Aleksandr Balagura presented again at the "Festival dei Popoli" (this time out of competition) his second work - "Widow Street" - shot in a gipsy village at the border between Ukraine and Hungary. Aleksandr Balagura directed to date over 20 documentaries and some TV programs. In the last thirty years his works, including "Antologion", "Wings of a Butterfly" and "Life Span of an Object in Frame", have been screened and given recognition in many important film festivals worldwide, including Fid Marseille, Odessa IFF, Molodist IFF, Cinema du Reel, Torino IFF and many others.

Since 1998 Aleksandr Balagura lives in Genoa (Italy) with his family, working as independent film director.

FILMOGRAPHY

2016 - STORY FOR AN EMPTY THEATRE, 57 min., (a film by Aleksandr Balagura and Cesare Bedognè), Italy

This film was selected for over 30 international independent film festivals and it was given about 10 Awards, both as Best Experimental Film and as Best Documentary. These include for instance the "Great Indian Film and Literature Festival" (GIFLIF, India, 2016), the "Nuovo Festival del Cinema di Alghero" (Italy, 2017) and the "New Renaissance Film Festival" of Amsterdam (the Netherlands, 2018).

2013 - LOLI KALI SHUBA, doc., 52 min.

Odessa IFF, Cottbus IFF, Artdocfest - Moscow, Festival dei Popoli 2013, Delhi IFF 2013 and others.

2012 - OH-OH-OH, doc., 11 min.

2012 - LIFE SPAN OF THE OBJECT IN FRAME - 111 min.

FIDMarseille - Mention de jury, DOCLisboa, Artdocfest - Moscow, Bratislava IFF, Docudays- Kiev, FICUNAM - Mexico, Pune IFF- India and others.

2010 - INTONAZIONE DEL CORRERE - 10 min

2009 - TEXTURA LUCIS, doc., 20 min

2008 - WINGS OF A BUTTERFLY (a film about the unfinished film)- 64min.

Jury prize for the best film in Panorama of Ukrainian cinema 2007-2008 -IFF Molodist-2008. Competition: Torino 2008 - Italy IFF, Cinema du reel 2009- Paris - France, FAMAFEST 2009 - Portugal, Filmer l'invisible - France, Le Fantoms du Reel - France and others.

2003 - PAUSA ITALIANA (a film about waiting for the film), Tagliacozzo FF, experimental films program «Light Cone» - Paris and others.

1998-99 - creative TV program PHOTOGRAPHER

1996 -ANTOLOGION (Ukrainian film)- Neubrandenburg IFF, experimental films program «Light Cone-2006» - Paris, Molodist- Kiev, Tagliacozzo FF. and others.

1995 - MESSA ECLECTICA (small), doc. - 26min. Diploma - Stakhanov IFF and others.

1994 - FROM GREEN THINKS OF ONE FOX - 18 min.

1993 - MELODIA - doc., 30 min.

1992 - TREE TAMLES ON THE PALM OF MY HAND, doc. - 30 min.

1991 - WIDOWSTREET - doc., 15 min.

Festival dei Popoli -Florence 1991, Filmer a Tout Prix IFF - Bruxelle, Molodist IFF - Kiev. and others.

1990 - TO OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS -

Grand-Prize for the Best Documentary - Festival dei Popoli - Florence 1990

Personal IMDb page:

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7377527/

LIST OF FILMS AND TRAILERS AVAILABLE ON-LINE:

"Wings of a Butterfly" (full movie) can be viewed on Vimeo: