“Early Vertov and His Problems”—A Talk by Yuri Tsivian

Following our recent retrospective, “Kino-Eye: The Revolutionary Cinema of Dziga Vertov,” the Archive is pleased to welcome the co-curator of that series, Yuri Tsivian, to present a special talk, “Early Vertov and His Problems.”

We know Dziga Vertov’s manifestos and we know his films. Normally, we think of Vertov’s writing and filmmaking as two activities that complement each other. What this talk endeavors to do is to oppose Vertov the theorist and Vertov the filmmaker. The big demands Vertov made on other filmmakers created problems first of all for himself. It is easy to say “no” to scenarios and actors; it is harder to make films observing self-imposed limitations like this. This presentation will look at these and similar problems and the solutions Vertov found for them.

Yuri Tsivian is William Colvin Professor in Art History, Slavic Languages & Literatures, Comparative Literature, Cinema & Media Studies and the College; University of Chicago. He is the author or editor of Lines of Resistance: Dziga Vertov and the Twenties, Ivan the Terrible,  Early Cinema in Russia and its Cultural Reception and Silent Witnesses: Russian Films, 1908-1919.

Special thanks to: Steve Mamber, vice-chair, UCLA Cinema & Media Studies; Barbara Boyle, chair, UCLA Department of Film, Television and Digital Media; Teri Schwartz, dean, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television; Janet Bergstrom, professor, UCLA Cinema & Media Studies.