IVAN MAXIMOV
Benches № 0458
2D computer, hand-drawn animation, 6′32″, 2014
Film Director: Ivan Maximov.
Animators: Tatyana Yazyna, Roman Efremov, Ivan Maximov.
Editor: Anna Kadykova.
Music: Tango "I'm writing to you ..." J. Raymondo.
Sound producer: Marat Fayzullin.
Patrons of the film: Paolo Polesso, Vadim Bogdanov, Lydia Shulga, Vladimir Dolgov.
Ivan Maximov was born in 1958, Moscow. He studied photography at the Biophysical Institute in Moscow till 1976. From 1976 - 1982 Maximov studied at the Physical-Technical Institute in Moscow. He worked as an illustrator for various magazines and from 1982 to 1986 he was an engineer at the Russian Space Research Institute. Between 1986 and 1989 Maximov took advanced studies in Film Directing and Script writing.
For his first course work "Bolero" he subsequently received the "Golden Bear" and "Nika", then for a diploma film "5/4" get the prize of FIPRESCI in Oberhausen.
His artistic thinking blew up the Soviet animation with his surreal characters, which were unpredictably transformed and moved according to rules known only by the author. Maximov's films evoked enthusiasm not only for the youth's hungry changes, but for the masters of animation: "It's unclear and funny," Fyodor Khitruk said about his first course work (“Bolero”). And although the early 90's was a difficult period for Russian animation, at this time new original authors began to appear, they became as artists, directors in one person of their films as well as partly or fully animators ; Maximov is one of them.
Maximov calls animation synthetic art, because there are so many components in it - idea, graphics, movement, music, rhythm. And he feels comfortable in this variety.
Since 2002, he has not only created films, but also teaches directing in animation.
The film ‘Benches No.0458’ is an absurd story without any beginning or end, as it often happens in Maximov’s works. The film’s idea evolves around some park benches, and characters from the Maximov universe interact with them in one way or another. One recognizes in them the behaviour of ordinary children and adults. Number 0458 in the film title does not mean anything special, except that similar benches and characters can be met anywhere and anytime.
Maximov often says that his ‘incomprehensible’ films with strange names are a parody for high brow cinema which pretends to have special elusive meanings and numerous interpretations. However, the artist is cunning when he declares himself to be beyond intellectual aesthetic search. Under the guise of entertaining films he hides unusual movement mechanics, unexpected twists of the plot and behaviour of Maximov's characters. All of these tools keep the beholder in constant cognitive tension, surprise, attempts to guess what will happen next, and to make sense of the plot accidents.
The film Benches No.0458 was also the first Maximov’s experience in crowdfunding, collecting project funds via the Internet. The campaign was a success: more than 250 people made donations for the film production.