Today, the oldest film studio in the country functions as a film production factory and produces other projects. Filming is underway in all the pavilions: 13 frames are being worked on. Currently the study has four pavilions, all of them historical. In the First, Second and Fourth, films are made, and in the Fifth the immersive exhibition “Missing Newsreels” is held for the second year.
The First Pavilion has the smallest area and at the same time the most demanded. At one time, the military drama “Litvyak”, “It’s hard to be God” and partly “Cinderella” were filmed here.
The second pavilion with blue chroma, where all the scenes are created with computer graphics, has been partially restored, but work is already underway.
The most ambitious was the transformation of the historic Fourth Pavilion: most of the funds were spent on its restoration. It is now the subject of the Committee for the Control, Use and State Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments (KGIOP). At the end of the 19th century, the building housed the Aquarium Theater, where in 1896 the first public film screening in Russia took place. The Lumière brothers demonstrated “The arrival of a train at La Ciotat station”.
On the roof of the pavilion, riveted vaults are preserved, made in Gustave Eiffel’s workshop, using the same technology as the famous tower in Paris. The same designs are found in the Fifth Pavilion.
Despite the cultural and historical importance of the Fourth Pavilion, it has not been renovated for decades. The garbage accumulated for 70 years was removed by dozens of trucks. During the restoration process, two rooms were found that even Lenfilm employees were not aware of. Once the doors to these rooms were boarded up and they were finally forgotten about. Now the found rooms participate in the production process.
In addition to the pavilions, the post-production facilities were renovated. A new sound studio with a wide variety of textures and a re-recording studio have appeared in the editing and toning complex, in which sound engineers work with sound effects, stitch them together and superimpose the result on the video sequence. . Five sound editing rooms and two voice-over studios have also been updated.
“Lenfilm” is a cultural landmark of the city. According to Fyodor Shcherbakov, the general director of the film studio, many tourists and residents of St. Petersburg want to come on tour. And the strategy of turning Lenfilm into a place open to visitors is already going full steam ahead.
Two weeks ago a new exhibition place appeared – a corridor with old film equipment. All exhibits in the past were involved in the making of movies. For example, a film strip from the painting “Winter Cherry” is laid out on the editing table.
A small library with stands with literature on cinema was installed next to the exhibition. And next to the shelves they arranged an area for photographs.
– In the future we will equip the movie theater, the museum of achievements of the film studio and the director’s theater, in which all the trailers of the “golden collection” took place; now it will become the end point of the guided tours. , where visitors will see a film about the history of Lenfilm: Fedor Shcherbakov talks about the plans.
The so-called “wolf corridor”, through which the historical pavilions are accessed, has also been renovated and transformed into a new exhibition space that presents the 100 years of existence of the film factory.
Another object that should turn the film studio into a public place is the roof of building 10. It has not been used before.
– On the day of the “Scarlet Sails” we found here many strangers who were climbing from the roofs of neighboring houses. The guards actively chased them away. We realized that a place with views of the Peter and Paul Fortress, Kronverksky Prospekt, Petrogradskaya Storona, St. Isaac’s Cathedral and other sights should be accessible. – explains the general director of “Lenfilm”.
To access the roof, a comfortable staircase was built and a usable roof with tiles was made. Now you can get here only with an individual tour. In the future, a wooden terrace will be made on the roof of Lenfilm and events will be held.
The territory of the film studio is also being actively ennobled. In the courtyard the monument to the Lenfilm workers who died during the Great Patriotic War was moved and restored. All the decorative elements of the monument were preserved, but they had a new design and lighting.
The two courtyards of the film studio are still closed, but they will also become a public space. According to the director of Lenfilm, the landscaping works are almost finished. It remains to update the asphalt, equip the square and remove all the cars. The facades of the buildings were also ordered. All restoration work was carried out taking into account the recommendations of KGIOP.
Lenfilm has promised 300 million rubles for all repairs; this amount has not yet been spent, but in the future it may increase. The management has not yet announced the time of full completion of the restoration.
By the way:
The heating system has also been renewed. Lenfilm’s boiler house supplies heat not only to the film studio buildings, but also to several nearby residential buildings and business centers. The old complex was completely depleted in 1994. They did not demolish the unusable boiler room, but designed and built a modern one. The new complex was inaugurated last week. It will consume 30 percent less gas and significantly less electricity.
