Marina Goldovskaya likes to tell a story about a conversation
she had while filming her 1992 documentary “Shattered
Mirror.”
While waiting in a three-to-four hour line at a Moscow gas
station, she began filming as part of her video diary. A man in a
car near her rolled down his window and asked her what she was
doing. She told him she was filming the line for historical
purposes.
“(The man told me), “˜You’re right. It’s
your duty,'” Goldovskaya said.
Goldovskaya agrees with the man in the car. A UCLA documentary
film professor since 1994, Goldovskaya’s views on documentary
filmmaking revolve around a sense of duty to record the truth on
film.
“It’s such a euphoric feeling when you feel
you’re a part of history, when history happens to your
camera,” she said.
Born and raised in Moscow during the Soviet Union’s
totalitarian regime, she’s had plenty opportunities to film
historical events. Since the 1970s, she’s made over 20
documentaries ““ most pertaining to the constantly changing
lives of people in Russia. Many of her films attempt to give voices
to those who normally aren’t heard from, telling the stories
of real people and preserving them in time.
“There’s a sense of duty I’m carrying inside
of me,” Goldovskaya said. “Life put me in this
situation.”
She even made a documentary in 1994 titled “Lucky to Be
Born in Russia.” The title refers to her complex feelings
regarding Russian politics ““ she doesn’t support
totalitarian governments, but she appreciates the values she
developed in response to the Soviet regime.
“In totalitarian countries, the government is cautious
about freedom of speech, because all problems start with
talking,” she said. “Films and art mattered a lot
because they had the possibility to push the buttons of hard
issues.”
As the Russian political scene has stabilized a bit over the
years, Goldovskaya has expanded her role as a teacher, still taking
on a few filmmaking projects. While at UCLA, she created the
Documentary Salon Series of screenings. She is also a board member
of the International Documentary Association.
Meanwhile, she’s planning to go to Russia over spring
break to document Russian citizens’ sentiments regarding the
potential U.S.-led war with Iraq.
Goldovskaya is also filming an oral history of the documentary;
for which she is interviewing many of today’s prolific
documentary filmmakers. Additionally, she is working on an ongoing
project about gay single parents in Los Angeles, a story she
discovered through a contact from one of her previous films.
“I’m a filmmaker following the destinies of my
characters,” Goldovskaya said. “Never mind where
something happens. Wherever it happens, I’ll be there with my
camera.”
Goldovskaya travels to Russia at least twice a year, but as a
full-time faculty member, that’s becoming more and more
difficult.
“It used to be that filmmaking was my main job and
teaching was a part-time job,” she said. “You can
always arrange to leave when you’re part-time. Full-time is
pretty difficult. I just cannot leave the students.”
And while Goldovskaya sacrifices chances to be out shooting
footage in favor of the classroom, she regards it as one of the
best decisions she’s made. When she’s in her office,
students frequently dart in and out of her office, requesting
appointments and asking questions.
“It’s extremely important for young people to feel
they can express themselves,” she said.
Goldovskaya jokes that making documentaries is the shortest way
to poverty, yet she has made a career out of it. It’s a
model, which will hopefully inspire her students.
“I was just lucky,” she said.