
Presentation of the film «David Simanovich. The Road to Chagall»
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- Created on Wednesday, 08 May 2024 14:10
On May, 9 was celebrated 10 years since the death of poet, translator and public figure David Simanovich. David proudly said about himself: «I am from Vitebsk!» and his name is forever woven into the history of the city.
People who knew David Grigorievich well, note his invisible presence in their favorite city. A slight wave of his hand and the famous «Hello! Hello!». To this day, it still seems that a familiar silhouette of David running on endless errands is about to flicker by the Town Hall.
Throughout the ten years after David Simanovich's death, various projects related to him continue to be realized in Vitebsk. One of these projects is the documentary «David Simanovich. The Road to Chagall», created by the TV and Radio Company «Vitebsk» at the request of «Rubicon» Ltd. On May, 7 its premiere took place in Vitebsk regional library. The script was written by historian and local historian Lyudmila Khmelnitskaya, the film crew was headed by director Sviatlana Pahorelskaya.
The authors of the film chose one episode from David Simanovich's life – the time he devoted to bringing the name of Marc Chagall back to Vitebsk. «We worked together, organized many interesting things together. I wanted to show the era, the truth, the events we witnessed», – said Liudmila Khmelnitskaya. When preparing the movie, a large layer of video material, preserved at the Vitebsk television studio, was collected. The State Archive of Vitebsk region, where the fund of David Simanovich was created, also helped in the selection of information.
The participants of the presentation looked at the newsreel footage with excitement and tears in their eyes. Familiar and long ago changed corners of ancient Vitebsk. There is no museum in Chagall's house yet, and Vitebsk citizens don't know their famous fellow countryman at all... Disputes about whether there should be a Chagall Museum in Vitebsk. Now it seems incredible. And finally – the first exhibition of the artist's paintings in his native city! Creation of the Marc Chagall Museum, Chagall readings...
As Svetlana Pogorelskaya noted: «David Simanovich made the history of the city. Few people manage to do it, but he fulfilled the dream of a genius – Marc Chagall. He brought Chagall back to his homeland, to Vitebsk».