Since the 1990s, Oleg Mavromatti has been known almost exclusively within art circles and by those interested in extremely provocative Russian contemporary art. Though being justly labeled as a “Russian actionist,” Mavromatti was always interested in cinema. In 1995, he founded the independent film union Supernova, under which he produced the infamous Green Elephant (one of the most cultish Russian films made after the collapse of the Soviet Union) in 1999 and directed Bastards (2000). His best-known performance art piece, Do Not Believe Your Eyes (which resulted in a federal investigation and caused his consequent emigration from Russia), involved a real self-crucifixion and was intended to be part of the film Oil on Canvas. In 2015, Mavromatti’s name reappeared in the conversations of Russian intellectuals when he released the documentary No Place for Fools, made out of YouTube videos of Sergei Astakhov, a “holy fool,” as the director presented him. With his next film Monkey, Ostrich, and Grave, Mavromatti took another step that proves his status as an innovative contemporary filmmaker.
