Andrei Tarkovsky

Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky ( ; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Russian film director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential directors in cinema history, Tarkovsky's films explore spiritual and metaphysical themes, and are noted for their slow pacing and long takes, dreamlike visual imagery, and preoccupation with nature and memory.

Tarkovsky studied film at Moscow's VGIK under filmmaker Mikhail Romm, and subsequently directed his first five features in the Soviet Union: ''Ivan's Childhood'' (1962), ''Andrei Rublev'' (1966), ''Solaris'' (1972), ''Mirror'' (1975), and ''Stalker'' (1979). A number of his films from this period are ranked among the best films ever made. After years of creative conflict with state film authorities, Tarkovsky left the country in 1979 and made his final two films abroad; ''Nostalghia'' (1983) and ''The Sacrifice'' (1986) were produced in Italy and Sweden respectively. In 1986, he also published a book about cinema and art entitled ''Sculpting in Time''. He died later that year of cancer, a condition possibly caused by the toxic locations used in the filming of ''Stalker''.

Tarkovsky was the recipient of several awards at the Cannes Film Festival throughout his career, including the FIPRESCI prize, the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, and the Grand Prix Spécial du Jury. He was also awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for his debut film, ''Ivan's Childhood''. In 1990, he was posthumously awarded the Soviet Union's prestigious Lenin Prize. Three of his films—''Andrei Rublev'', ''Mirror'', and ''Stalker''—featured in ''Sight & Sound'' 2012 poll of the 100 greatest films of all time. Provided by Wikipedia