Boris Frantsuzov. The Artist. 

Boris Frantsuzov is one of the leading Russian graphic artists of the last third of the 20th century. Modern art historians give him a place among the classics who determined the stages of development of Russian fine art.
A documentary biographical movie about the artist Boris Frantsuzov will demonstrate to its viewers in what an incomprehensible, anomalous way an orphan from a small village, having chosen for himself the difficult thankless profession of an artist, himself, without any support, only with his selfless work and great talent, in a short period of his life was able to break through to the highest peaks of creativity, become a modern classic and leave his name in world art and in national history.
The significance of what was created by Boris Frantsuzov gives grounds to speak of a time marked by epoch-making shifts in national and world history. The motives of his work were associated with his native Vladimir land, but the figurative system was much wider. His art is correlated with the scale of the entire Russian world with its problems and discoveries, grandeur and tragedy. With the advent of Boris Frantsuzov, graphic art of the 20th century acquires, according to the researcher of his work, PHD of Art History Viktor Kalashnikov, a full-fledged pictorial sound.
Boris Frantsuzov worked in different techniques: linocut, woodcut, pastel, gouache, watercolor, drawing, and also created many works of oil painting, but it was in the technique of classical etching that he created outstanding works of art, called “graphic paintings” by modern art historians.
The movie will help at least a little to reveal the amazing, unique, and unexplored phenomenon of the powerful flowering of Russian graphics of the Soviet period of the 60-70s, crystallized in regional schools, one of the founders of which in Vladimir was Boris Frantsuzov.
The scale of Boris Frantsuzov, a colossal artistic figure, who for many years determined the desired height of professional, figurative, spiritual achievements for Vladimir and all Russian artists, is becoming clearer to us.
The movie gradually recreates the unique fate of an outstanding artist. Episodes from childhood during the war, youth, studies in Mstera and Moscow, formation in Vladimir were screened. Numerous interviews of the artist's students and friends, Boris Frantsuzov's family, art historians, museum workers, researchers of the artist's work, journalists, and priests are shown. A lifetime chronicle was used, shot by a wonderful director and cameraman, documentary filmmaker of the Leningrad Documentary Film Studio Vladimir Ishutin. Also used is a lifetime film about Boris Frantsuzov by the excellent director Viktor Shkurko "Landscape", in which Boris Fedorovich conducts a deep monologue about the philosophy of landscape.
In the process of working on the movie, film sets in Moscow, Vladimir, Mstyora, Suzdal, Kameshkovo and, of course, in the village of Zauichie, the «small fatherland» of Boris Frantsuzov, were visited and mastered. Interviews with Bishop of Alexandrov and Yuryev-Polsky Innokenty (Yakovlev), People's Artist of Russia Vladislav Nekosov, Honored Artists of Russia Yuri Tkachev and Vladimir Nilov, artist Valentina Gilazutdinova, People's Artist and Art Critic, PHD Sergei Gavrilyachenko, PHD of Art History and artist Viktor Kalashnikov.
An excellent interview was taken with the poet and journalist Andre Filinov, poets and journalists Vadim Zababashkin and Evgeny Vikulov were used. The thoughts of the People's Artist of Russia Vladimir Yukin and the artist, teacher Igor Yudin, artist and great thinker Igor Shilkin, writer, publicist and teacher, living classic Vladimir Krupin about Boris Frantsuzov are voiced.
The memoirs of numerous friends and associates of the artist are reproduced. The artist's wife Yulia Frantsuzova and son Boris also starred in the movie.
The filming was attended by guest actors who portrayed the artist's childhood, adolescence and youth, as well as actors who were used to recreate the reconstruction of Boris Frantsuzov's workshop.
Project supported by @user-hh6xu1tk2j