Russia revisited
By Daily Bruin Staff
Feb. 5, 2001 9:00 p.m.
 Photos from UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television
"The Prince is Back" is the story of a Russian prince and his
family’s struggle to restore his ancestor’s castle.
By Mary Williams
Daily Bruin Contributor
Intrigued by an unusual article in a Russian newspaper about a
prince and his efforts to restore his ruined castle, UCLA Film and
Television Professor Marina Goldovskaya traveled to Russia over
spring break in 1999 to investigate the story further.
“It was very strange,” she said of the article.
“It was called “˜The Prince is Back,’ and there
was a photo of this 47-year-old man with the ruins of the castle in
the background. I recognized the castle because I passed by when I
was a child, with my mother.”
During the summer she flew again to Russia, her country of
origin, and when she returned to the United States a few months
later, she brought with her footage that would soon become the
award-winning documentary, “The Prince is Back.”
Goldovskaya’s film won the Silver Rembrandt in Amsterdam,
among other honors, and will be screened at the UCLA Hammer Museum
today at 7 p.m. The documentary depicts Prince Eugene Meshersky and
his family struggling to rebuild their ancestors’ castle.
According to Goldovskaya, the story acts as a metaphor for Russians
trying to rebuild their country after years of political
upheaval.
“Usually when I am filming, it’s my topic: a destiny
of a human being in connection with history, how history is
reflected in the life and the destiny of a human being, and how the
human being lives through history,” she said.
Although these connections are universal, Goldovskaya said she
finds them better represented in Russia than in the United
States.
 Professor Marina Goldovskaya’s "The
Prince is Back" will be showing at the UCLA Hammer Museum on
Tuesday, Feb. 6 at 7:00 p.m. “In the United States life is so
good, I must tell you. Here there are 250 however many years of
democracy, and the country is a very stable country,”
Goldovskaya said. “Human destiny doesn’t depend on the
decisions that are taken by politicians.”
In contrast, Russia’s recent history is one marked by
instability and political change, which has affected the lives of
each of its citizens. According to Goldovskaya, one can see a
larger change by examining the life of each person it affects.
“From my point of view, every life, like a little piece of
mirror, represents the whole picture,” she said. “So,
the life of this family ““ strange and weird, these people
living in rubble, trying to reconstruct the beautiful castle of
their past ““ they represent this quest of the whole country
to restore its former grandeur.”
Goldovskaya feels in touch with the history and people of Russia
because she was born there, educated at the Russian Moscow Film
Institute, and worked for several years as a newsreel
cinematographer, traveling around the former Soviet Union.
She then began making her own documentaries, working as a
director, cinematographer, writer and editor.
“I made several very important films, because I just came
at the right time in the right place; it was when the changes (in
the former U.S.S.R.) started to happen,” she said. “I
made the films and they became pretty famous.”
Goldovskaya brought her films to the U.S. and screened them at
places like Sundance, San Francisco and Telluride. Later, she was
invited to teach at several universities, and permanently moved to
the United States.
Currently Goldovskaya teaches History of Documentary Film,
Advanced Documentary Workshop and Digital Exploration.
She also runs the UCLA Documentary Salon Series, which consists
of monthly documentary screenings with the filmmakers often present
to answer questions afterwards.
“I am bringing the most exciting filmmakers and directors,
from all over the world, as much as I can,” she said.
Goldovskaya said she hopes the series will increase interest in
the documentary form among students.
“It’s to raise interest in documentary as a medium
which is very appealing, and not very well known to the ordinary,
general audience,” she said, “but the medium that
addresses social issues, stirs our thinking and keeps us alive,
because you cannot only watch fiction films.”
“It’s a brilliant way of bringing together
documentarians from all over the world and integrating our students
into this community,” she continued.
FILM: “The Prince is Back,” part of
the Filmforum at the UCLA Hammer Museum, will be screened today at
7 p.m. It will be preceded by “Disgraced Monuments.”
Goldovskaya will be available to answer questions after the film.
General admission is $5 and student admission is $3.
