Screenwriter Victor Merezhko

For several decades the works of Viktor Merezhko have been the constant attention of the public. Films for his scripts have been watched by millions of viewers in Russia and far beyond its borders. What are the secrets of the success of the famous master?

Biography Facts

The future playwright, actor and director Victor Merezhko was born in 1937 in the Rostov region. He was born into a family of modest rural employees, who for a long time were balancing on the verge of poverty. The path to the profession was for Victor not very close. He changed several specialties and places of work, graduated from the Polygraphic Faculty in the city of Lviv, before in 1964 he entered the script department of the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography. The taste of the first significant professional success Victor Merezhko could feel even before the completion of education - the first film in his script was put into production when his author was only a second-year student. It would seem that the future has great prospects.

After the Institute

Despite a successful start, the playwright's career was not easy and cloudless. After the graduation from VGIK Viktor Merezhko works hard and hard, but for several years can not turn into a film of any of his script. At this time he had to live in Moscow with his wife and young children in a rented apartment. Only in 1972 on Lenfilm was put a film on the script Merezhko "Hello and Farewell." This melodrama was favorably received by the audience and noticed criticism. It clearly marked the characteristic features of the author, which is still famous movie screenwriter Victor Merezhko. This is a close attention to the moral problems of interpersonal relations, careful study of characters, logicality in the construction and development of plot lines, responsiveness to the growing social conflicts in society.

During the Soviet era

The tireless long-term work of the playwright could not but lead to a logical result. The screenwriter Viktor Merezhko is gradually gaining authority in Soviet cinema. His work is becoming more and more in demand. Leading masters of Russian cinema are taking part in the implementation of Merezhko's scenarios. Impressive is the enumeration of the films, the plot, the dramaturgy and the characters of which, Viktor Merezhko designed and proposed for the embodiment on screen: "You are expecting a citizen Nikanorova", "A Lonely Woman Wants to Know", "Flight in a Dream and in Reality", "Rodnya." In total, over the scenes of the playwright, more than fifty films were shot. Many of them are rightfully recognized as classics of Soviet and Russian cinema. In addition, there were short films, animated films, theater plays, and great public work in the Union of Cinematographers. In 1987, the playwright was awarded the title of Laureate of the State Prize for the script of the film "Flying in a dream and in reality", where one of the most brilliant roles was played by the famous actor Oleg Yankovsky.

In the post-Soviet period

In the early nineties, during the crisis time of the general collapse, hard times experienced and domestic cinema. Films were shot a little, and the screens dominated the production of Hollywood. Before the new Russian cinema was the task of finding ways out of the current difficult situation. Needed were new formats that met the requirements of the time. First of all, television series became such a format.

The screenwriter Viktor Merezhko is the author of two significant works in this direction. This is the crime series "Mole" and "Sonka the Golden Hand". In addition, the playwright from the early nineties and he himself often starred in films in his scenarios in the roles of the second plan. In addition, Viktor Merezhko is the author and director of several projects on the central television. Publishes books with theatrical plays and scripts. Since the mid-nineties, he heads the management of the television company Cascade. In 2014, Viktor Merezhko was awarded the title of People's Artist of the Russian Federation. And in no way is not going to stop there. Currently, there are several projects on the writer's desktop that will eventually turn into new films on the big screen and on television.

Victor Merezhko: the personal life of the playwright

In legal marriage, the famous playwright consisted only once. With his wife Tamara they lived almost thirty years. After her death from a sudden and incurable illness, Victor Merezhko stayed with his son and daughter. Of course, the women in his life were. But only to put a new stamp in the passport Victor did not hurry. I preferred to remain a free and independent artist, known in the cinematic world as Viktor Merezhko. His wives had only informal relations with him.