Lessons from Tarkovsky

• In Event: The Art and Science of Teaching: Authors and Filmmakers as Educators

Abstract

In this paper, Lessons from Tarkovsky, I explore the aesthetic views of the Russian film director Andrei Tarkovsky as expressed in his Lectures on Film Directing. The concept of "lessons" is understood in two interrelated ways: both as what Tarkovsky himself learned from world directors and as what can be learned from his work today. I examine how his artistic apprenticeship is articulated in both his lectures and films, highlighting key influences and themes. Finally, I investigate how contemporary directors have drawn upon Tarkovsky's "lessons" in shaping the aesthetics of 21st-century cinema.

Author

• Yuri Leving, Princeton U