Professor, filmmaker Goldovskaya fulfills ‘duty’ by documenting history

Jake Tracer
Published: Friday, February 28, 2003

Marina Goldovskaya likes to tell a story about a conversation she had while filming her 1992 documentary “Shattered Mirror.”

While waiting in a three-to-four hour line at a Moscow gas station, she began filming as part of her video diary. A man in a car near her rolled down his window and asked her what she was doing. She told him she was filming the line for historical purposes.

“(The man told me), ‘You’re right. It’s your duty,’” Goldovskaya said.

Goldovskaya agrees with the man in the car. A UCLA documentary film professor since 1994, Goldovskaya’s views on documentary filmmaking revolve around a sense of duty to record the truth on film.

“It’s such a euphoric feeling when you feel you’re a part of history, when history happens to your camera,” she said.

Born and raised in Moscow during the Soviet Union’s totalitarian regime, she’s had plenty opportunities to film historical events. Since the 1970s, she’s made over 20 documentaries – most pertaining to the constantly changing lives of people in Russia. Many of her films attempt to give voices to those who normally aren’t heard from, telling the stories of real people and preserving them in time.

“There’s a sense of duty I’m carrying inside of me,” Goldovskaya said. “Life put me in this situation.”

She even made a documentary in 1994 titled “Lucky to Be Born in Russia.” The title refers to her complex feelings regarding Russian politics – she doesn’t support totalitarian governments, but she appreciates the values she developed in response to the Soviet regime.

“In totalitarian countries, the government is cautious about freedom of speech, because all problems start with talking,” she said. “Films and art mattered a lot because they had the possibility to push the buttons of hard issues.”

As the Russian political scene has stabilized a bit over the years, Goldovskaya has expanded her role as a teacher, still taking on a few filmmaking projects. While at UCLA, she created the Documentary Salon Series of screenings. She is also a board member of the International Documentary Association.

Meanwhile, she’s planning to go to Russia over spring break to document Russian citizens’ sentiments regarding the potential U.S.-led war with Iraq.

Goldovskaya is also filming an oral history of the documentary; for which she is interviewing many of today’s prolific documentary filmmakers. Additionally, she is working on an ongoing project about gay single parents in Los Angeles, a story she discovered through a contact from one of her previous films.

“I’m a filmmaker following the destinies of my characters,” Goldovskaya said. “Never mind where something happens. Wherever it happens, I’ll be there with my camera.”

Goldovskaya travels to Russia at least twice a year, but as a full-time faculty member, that’s becoming more and more difficult.

“It used to be that filmmaking was my main job and teaching was a part-time job,” she said. “You can always arrange to leave when you’re part-time. Full-time is pretty difficult. I just cannot leave the students.”

And while Goldovskaya sacrifices chances to be out shooting footage in favor of the classroom, she regards it as one of the best decisions she’s made. When she’s in her office, students frequently dart in and out of her office, requesting appointments and asking questions.

“It’s extremely important for young people to feel they can express themselves,” she said.

Goldovskaya jokes that making documentaries is the shortest way to poverty, yet she has made a career out of it. It’s a model, which will hopefully inspire her students.

“I was just lucky,” she said.