The “Aksenov-fest-2018”: Kazan citizens will write dictation, watch movies, and meet with their favorite writers and poets

The house-museum of Vasily Aksenov was replenished with a new exhibit, a writer's cap.

(KZN.RU, September 13, Ksenia Shvetsova). This year, the “Aksenov-fest” is held for the 12th time in the capital of Tatarstan and will be supplemented by new events. For example, a new bright page of the festival was a movie. The citizens will meet with the directors, see long-loved films on the big screen. Musician Andrey Makarevich will be in the role of writer and artist, and Kazan writer Guzel Yakhina will check citizens’ literacy. The organizers told journalists about these and other interesting events of the festival at a press conference in the house museum of Vasily Aksenov.

This year the festival is held under the motto “The Wanderer, or the eternal return to Kazan”. In addition to poets and writers, the participants were well-known directors, Vadim Abdrashitov and Rashid Nugmanov were among them. Azat Abzalov, the head of the Department of Culture, noted that the cinema became such a bright page of the festival for the first time. An extensive film program prepared for the citizens, which will include both play and documentary films. They will be presented in the cinema hall of the recently restored CLC Lenin. The citizens will see Vadim Abdrashitov's film “Servant”, which turned 30 this year. The director reminded that also this year, the film “Needle” by Rashid Nugmanov with Viktor Tsoi starring, also turned 30. It will be shown as well on the big screen. In addition, the program included several documentary films: for example, a film about Chistopol during the war, the movie “The bed will float to Russia” about Vladimir Nabokov, Vladimir Vysotsky and others. “Fortunately, while documentary films about Russian literature, writers and poets are being made, it will be very good if they get to our festival. We will contribute to this, because it's impossible to see them on television”, said V. Abdrashitov.

Andrey Makarevich stands at the festival in an unusual role as a writer and artist. He brought several of his books, as well as paintings for the exhibition, which the citizens can see in one of the halls in the house of Aksenov. “Many did not know that I was actually a graphic by education. Music makes me happy, and graphics is my profession”, said A. Makarevich. It is interesting that the artist's works adorn the wall in a very unusual way. They are hung fr om the ceiling, as it is forbidden to drill walls in a guarded house-museum. “I have never put up work like that, they live their lives, move as the wind blowing, people passing, it's unusual”, noted the musician.

He also recalled the idea of creating a festival. “It happened quite accidentally. Here was a spontaneous meeting, attended by Vasily Aksenov, poet Mikhail Hendelev, Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, and me. We began to remember Kazan, and Vasily Aksenov was surprised that this building still standing. He was sure that it had been demolished long ago. Ilsur Metshin said “This is your home, what do you want it to be?” And he answered “literary and jazz club”. So it happened, and from that moment the festival starts”.

One of the main themes of the current festival will be the work of Vladimir Vysotsky, who was a good friend of Vasily Aksenov. His book about the legendary musician was brought to Kazan by Yves Gautier, the French writer and researcher. “I owe my presence here in Kazan to one person who brought me here, Vladimir Vysotsky. He is the reason for everything: not only that I am here, but also that I being a student began to study your mysterious and such difficult Russian language”, said Yves Gauthier and thanked the organizers of the festival for the invitation.

The novelty of this festival will be that everyone will be able to join the dictation “Write, Kazan!” wh ere one of his texts entitled “Wooden Kazan” will be read by Guzel Yakhina, a writer, a native of Kazan. The dictation will be held tomorrow, on September 14, at the Central Library of Kazan (Vishnevsky Street, №10).

At the end of the press conference, the writer Albina Absalyamova transferred his cap to the museum of personal belongings of Vasily Aksenov. “We have a suit, a jacket, and now our headdress completes a kit, thank you”, said Irina Aksenova, the museum's director.

The “Aksenov-fest” will be held from 13 to 16 of September.