Editing director Mukharam Kabulova: “The movie is more important than my ego”

“The choice of profession is to some extent fateful”

My family and destiny gave me the wonderful world of cinema that I could absorb since childhood. Of course, this influenced the choice of profession – a kind of ancestor call. Afterwards I watched many movies at VGIK, it was quite a big part of the learning process. Of course, after watching Michelangelo Antonioni’s movie “Adventure” with Monica Vitti quite early, I wanted to become an actress – I was surprised by her beauty. I wanted to, but changed my mind, as often happens in childhood.

After working in advertising for three long years, one fine day I decided to study fiction at the Moscow New Cinema School. He started as an assistant editor at the company of Alexander Rodnyansky and Sergey Melkumov’s Non-Stop Production.

It seems that the choice of profession, the choice of destination is not always a private choice, but to some extent fate. Of course, everything starts with a craft, and then some kind of professional need, demand – all these factors have miraculously combined over the years.

“Edit direction – like knitting and sewing”

When famous cellist Yo Yo Ma came to his father as a child to announce his decision to become a musician, he replied: “You cannot live and work as a musician, this will be your life.” It seems to me that it is very well said, and I believe it, it is also about cinema. My profession gives me a special sense of life, concentration of attention, something like a meditative experience. In an interview someone wrote about editing the arrangement as knitting and sewing, the comparison sounds funny but it probably is.

The hardest thing in my job is to sit in a dark room for 10 hours.

Each new film differs from the previous one in terms of concept, content and style. I do not have a branded technique, when I look at the material, I probably trust my feelings, I try the options and they are not always the same. It is important to harmoniously combine images, tell the story, give the film a special atmosphere with reference to the script, try to hide or completely abandon the unnecessary.

The viewer should not see the montage on the screen, not notice – it’s just the heartbeat of the movie.

Russian cinema is based on great original multinational traditions, it has many talented professionals. This movie must live.

“I am inspired and nurtured by almost everything”

Sometimes you come to an exhibition and there is, for example, a painting by Munch or Polenov – and that’s it, I went, a lot of emotions, colors, lights, everything in me comes to life. Or I see something on the street and say, “It’s a movie!” I think so. Or more than just a movie, so beautiful, so vital!

Sometimes I get tired, but I haven’t had a creative crisis yet. Sometimes a movie can be complicated and you just have to think longer and longer or let go of that thought for a while and then go back and rethink it with a new look. At such moments, I try to take a break without a phone, with a book, go out or just hang up. I do sports, I do yoga, I read.

“In the beginning, of course, cinema was masculine”

It seems to me that the gender lines in the profession are getting blurred, but of course cinema was originally a male profession and there are more men in the industry. Fiction is a little different in directing, this profession is not well known in our country. It’s hard for me to say why this is due, perhaps industry faults, but there are actually quite a few women in this direction: Claudine Boucher, Telkam Schoonmaker who worked with Martin Scorsese (she also edited Raging Bull and edited almost all of her films), Soviet avant-garde Vera Khanzhonkova, Elizaveta Svilova and Esfir Shub.

I know I will change my profession if I want to be inside the frame and I have no discomfort with being outside of it.

I have great respect for my profession – I love editing.

In my picture of the world there is no criticism, there is an exchange of ideas about how we want the film to look – the director has an opinion, the editor has an opinion, it is important to hear and listen. You can always find a solution that will benefit the movie.

“Movie is more important than my ego”

I already have a European “Oscar” (European Film Academy award for best editing of the movie “Unclenching Fists”. Note. ed.) and I don’t mind buying an American one sometime!