DeBlasio, Alyssa. The Filmmaker's Philosopher: Merab Mamardashvili and Russian Cinema. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2019.

For more information on the published version, visit Edinburgh University Press's Website.

Alyssa DeBlasio is a professor of Russian at Dickinson College.

The Filmmaker's Philosopher: Merab Mamardashvili and Russian Cinema traces the influence of Soviet philosopher Merab Mamadashvili on a generation of Soviet and Russian filmmakers. The first study of Mamardashvili’s significant influence on cinema, culture and philosophy in Russia. Offers a compelling analysis of contemporary Russian filmmakers, including Alexander Sokurov, Andrey Zvyagintsev and Alexei Balabanov. Provides a carefully researched study of Mamardashvili’s philosophy and intellectual biography, written for scholars from all disciplines. Known as the ‘Georgian Socrates’ of Soviet philosophy, Merab Mamardashvili was a defining personality of the late-Soviet intelligentsia. In the 1970s and 1980s, he taught required courses in philosophy at Russia’s two leading film schools, helping to educate a generation of internationally prolific directors. Exploring Mamardashvili’s extensive philosophical output, as well as a range of recent Russian films, Alyssa DeBlasio reveals the intellectual affinities amongst directors of the Mamardashvili generation – including Alexander Sokurov, Andrey Zvyagintsev and Alexei Balabanov. This multidisciplinary study offers an innovative way to think about film, philosophy and the philosophical potential of the moving image.

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