First president and founder of the "Spirit of Fire" festival
An outstanding Russian film director, screenwriter, film producer, and educator. People's Artist of Russia, laureate of the USSR State Prize.
Sergey Solovyov made his film debut in 1970 with the short films "For Lack of Anything Better to Do" and "A Proposal" based on Chekhov's stories (in the film almanac "Family Happiness"). He began with adaptations of Russian classics — Gorky's "Yegor Bulichov and Others" (1971), Pushkin's "The Station Master" (1972). Sergey Solovyov's work is particularly notable for three trilogies. The first — "One Hundred Days After Childhood" (1975), "The Rescuer" (1980), "Direct Heiress" (1982) — revolved around the theme of first love. The trilogy "Assa" (1987), "Black Rose — Emblem of Sorrow, Red Rose — Emblem of Love" (1989), "House Under a Starry Sky" (1991) became significant events in cinema, public life, and the history of rock music, offering new aesthetics to 1980s–90s cinema. The third trilogy — "2-Assa-2" and "Anna Karenina" (in film and television versions) — appeared in 2008–2009. His last feature film "Kedy" was released in 2016.
In the 1990s, Solovyov directed stage productions: "Uncle Vanya" at the Maly Theatre and "The Seagull" at the Tagansky Actors' Union Theatre. From 1987 to 1995, he produced 50 thematic programs on the history and current state of Russian cinema in his own television program "SAS" on the Russia television channel. In recent years, he hosted his own program "Those with Whom I..." on the Culture television channel. Until his final days, he taught as a professor at VGIK.
Died on December 13, 2021.