The film tells the story of the legendary collector Gergui Kostaki through his daughter Aliki, artists A. Brusilovsky, O. Tselkov, I. Shelkovsky, art critics and museum staff. They argue, come up with various versions of the ups and downs of Kostaki's life and fate. From fragmentary reflections on the facets of his difficult and sometimes mysterious personality in the eyes of contemporaries, the portrait of a man who saved and preserved avant-garde art, of which Russia is proud, emerges today.
Commentaries and bibliography
A film project dedicated to George Costakis, whose unique collection of Russian avant-garde and non-conformist art is one of the most representative ones in the world. The documentary features the collector’s daughter, artists, as well as art historians, art critics and museum curators sharing their memories of George Costakis. They disagree with each other, question each other’s versions of Costakis’ life and its many twists and turns, and thus through the many fragments of their recollections the viewers are able to piece together the collector’s multifaceted personality that was anything but simple and nothing short of enigmatic. A complex picture of a man who salvaged and preserved Russian avant-garde art, which is today the nation’s proud legacy.
