The workshop on the very important topic — «Photography and cinema» was held by the photographer Vladimir Mishukov and by Andrey Zvyagintsev, the film maker and director. It was arranged in the grand auditorium of Russian State University of Humanitarian Sciences on the March1, 2008. The audience was more than 500 people — amateur and professional photographers, photo editors, art and cinema students, young film makers, etc.

Andrey Zvyagintsev and Vladimir Mishukov are friends from down the ages, working together while shooting both of Zvyagintsev’ most popular movies — «The Return»(Vozvraschenie) and «The Banishment» (Izgnaniye). They decided to discuss the correlations and influences of cinema and photography in the way of questions and answers. Despite the numbers of people gathered, Vladimir and Andrey created the joyful and confidential atmosphere. The questions were asking endlessly and everybody felt like home while talking on vital topics of photography, cinema and human relationship.

Vladimir Mishukov was showing his photographs made during the shooting of «The Return»(Vozvraschenie) and «The Banishment» (Izgnaniye). The audience was deeply impressed by his slideshow. Andrey Zvyagintsev talked about the philosophical issues of film making, the importance of choosing the right location and the details of creating the needed atmosphere in the shot. The workshop lasted during more than 5 hours and in the end there were still questions rising and the eyes shining with wonder! Surely, this discussion has to be continued during the next workshops with Andrey Zvyagintsev and Vladimir Mishukov.