Yuri Nikolaevich Arabov (; 25 October 1954 – 27 December 2023) was a Russian screenwriter, writer, poet and educator. He was known for his long-lasting collaboration with Alexander Sokurov. He was an Honored Artist of the Russian Federation (1999).
Biography Yuri Arabov was born in Moscow into a mixed Russian-Jewish family. His parents met in Tula, Russia, the native town of his father, but divorced five years after Yuri's birth. He was raised by his mother, Maria Sauts from Feodosia, Crimea. In 1937 she moved to Moscow to study directing at VGIK under Sergei Eisenstein, and later worked at the Gorky Film Studio as an assistant director and a dubbing director.Interview at the Silver Rain Radio, October 11, 2015 (in Russian)Yuri Arabov: I'll die as soon as I find God, but it will be a blessing for me interview at the Orthodox Christianity and the World website, February 19, 2015 (in Russian)
As a child Yuri took part in film dubbing. After school he considered becoming an Orthodox priest,Life Line. Yuri Arabov talk show by Russia-K, 2016 (in Russian) but then decided to follow in his mother's footsteps and entered screenwriting courses at VGIK led by Nikolai Figurovsky which he finished in 1980. During the studies he met Alexander Sokurov who became his close friend and a regular collaborator ever afterwards. By 2017 they had produced 12 feature films together. Their first movie — The Lonely Voice of Man — was finished in 1978. Despite Andrei Tarkovsky's approval, it was called "a propaganda of Russian idealism" and banned for nine years, released only in 1987.
The same happened to their next film Mournful Unconcern: finished in 1983, it was released only in 1987. It was also nominated for the Golden Bear at the 37th Berlin International Film Festival.The 1987 Program at the Berlin International Film Festival website After that Sokurov and Arabov produced a lot of critically acclaimed movies, most famous of them being the so-called "tetralogy of power" which includes Moloch (1999), Taurus (2001), The Sun (2005) and Faust (2011), a film that won the Golden Lion at the 68th Venice International Film Festival.
For his work on Moloch Yuri received the Best Screenplay Award at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival and the Best Script award at the 1999 Russian Guild of Film Critics Awards.Yuriy Arabov. Awards at IMDb His screenplay for Taurus was also distinguished by the Best Script award at the 2001 Russian Guild of Film Critics Awards and the 2002 Nika Award. He also received Nika Awards for both The Sun and Faust, as well as A Room and a Half — a semi-biographical film about Joseph Brodsky directed and co-written by Andrei Khrzhanovsky in 2009.
Arabov created over 30 screenplays for both feature films and TV series. Besides Sokurov, he often worked with Aleksandr Proshkin and his son Andrei Proshkin, both prominent Russian film directors. He was a member of the Union of Cinematographers of the Russian Federation. Beginning in 1992 he was also working as an educator at VGIK where he served as the head of the Screenwriting Faculty until his death.Screenwriting masters at the official VGIK websiteScreenwriting courses at the official VGIK website
Arabov was the author of several novels, including Big-Beat (2003), Wonder (2009), Orlean (2011) and A Butterfly Encounter (2014), as well as a number of poetry books.
Arabov died on 27 December 2023, at the age of 69.
Filmography Films 1978 – The Lonely Voice of Man 1983 – Mournful Unconcern 1988 – Days of Eclipse 1988 – Mister Designer 1989 – The Devoted 1989 – Save and Protect 1990 – The Second Circle 1990 – The Sphinx 1992 – Presence 1992 – Stone 1994 – Whispering Pages 1997 – Mother and Son 1999 – Moloch 2001 – Taurus 2002 – Modern Game 2002 – A Cat and a Half 2004 – Apocrypha : Music for Peter and Paul 2005 – The Sun 2006 – Horror which is always with you 2008 – Yuri's Day 2009 – The Miracle 2009 – A Room and a Half 2011 – Faust 2012 – The Horde 2013 – Mirrors 2015 – Orlean 2015 – The Cage 2015 – The Guards 2016 – The Monk and the Demon 2020 – The Nose or the Conspiracy of Mavericks
Television 1990 – Nikolai Vavilov, 6 episodes 2005 – Doctor Zhivago, 11 episodes 2005 – The Case of "Dead Souls", 8 episodes 2007 – Lenin's Testament, 12 episodes
Bibliography 2003 – Big-Beat — Moscow: Andrew's Flag, 400 pages. 2009 – Wonder — Moscow: AST, 224 pages. 2011 – Orlean — Moscow: AST, 224 pages. 2014 – A Butterfly Encounter — Moscow: AST, 352 pages.
References
External links
Yuri Arabov page at the British Film Institute Main Role. Yuri Arabov talk show by Russia-K, 2014 (in Russian) Yuri Arabov: “Andrei Proshkin took risks of this script” at the Moscow International Film Festival (2015)