Stas: Hi, my name is Stanislav. Today, as always, we have an interesting guest - Seva Galkin, a photographer, producer, queer film director, and former creative director of the magazine "Queer." Hello, Seva!
Seva: Hello, Stas!
Stas: Seva, tell us, how did you come to the decision to engage in this kind of art and to address LGBT topics?
Seva: Right now, you have to understand that participating in any LGBT organization in Russia is considered participating in an extremist community. This means that if I say that I belong to an LGBT organization or engage in LGBT activities, being here in Russia and being a fairly...
Stas: ...well-known?
Seva: ...prominent person, yes, with a background of many people who appreciate my work, as well as a large number of people who harbor pathological hatred towards me for various reasons - envy, pure hatred, chauvinism, xenophobia, and so on. It’s easy for them to just file a complaint against me, leading to my accounts being blocked, a slew of criminal charges, and so on. So I don’t even know how to discuss...
Stas: Yes, yes...
Seva: ...the abbreviation LGBT with you.
Stas: Let’s avoid discussing and using that abbreviation. Instead, tell us how you got into male photography. Shooting fashion, weddings, or even still life is much easier, right? When you undertake such projects in more traditional societies like Russia, you expose yourself to the risk of ending up in some kind of separate ghetto. Tell us how you came to this and why it was important for you to stay in the realm of male photography and to showcase male beauty?
Seva: If we go back about 25 years, if you were old enough to understand what was happening in Russia, it was a time of hope, change, and complete social reshuffling. People's life strategies and plans for the future were turning upside down. I felt that it was a time of opportunities. It was a different feeling then. Nowadays, people in Russia tend to criticize those times, the '90s, but in reality, it was a time of freedom. After graduating from medical school, I realized I didn’t want to work in the post-Soviet medical field, which hasn’t changed much since then. So, strategically, it was the right choice. I understood that I was a creative person and moved to Moscow. I got a job as a designer at a print shop with a photo studio that had a complete set of equipment but no one using it. Although I had never studied photography, I knew the basics and had an eye for composition. That’s how I started photographing. I began by shooting candy boxes and posters, and then I thought it would be interesting to photograph guys, so I went to a strip club. I remember the first guy, his name was Roma. I slipped him my business card and asked him to come for a photoshoot. That’s how it all started.
Stas: Reflecting on the start of your creative journey, you mentioned it was a different time, a time of different hopes. How do you feel about the current times?
Seva: Let’s say, the current time is challenging. I would call it a time of waiting. Why aren’t the projects and YouTube channels of those who left very popular? Because we perceive a certain arrogance, like “we’re so brave, we left the country!” This is often expressed, and that’s why we’re not interested in watching it. We understand everything, but there’s an existential choice to be made, right? Either remain silent... It’s clear that going to Red Square with a flag or even a white sheet is predictable. People are developing new strategies, as everything has changed for everyone since February 24, 2022, not only for those who left but also for those who stayed. Most people are preparing backup plans.
Stas: Let’s go back to your first documentary, "Hockey in My Dreams" (2024), which was featured at the Moscow Film Festival.
Seva: That was a production project. I was the executor, organizing everything as the film's producer. It was part of a strategy to promote a series about hockey, featuring famous players like Ovechkin and Kovalchuk, who scored the winning goal at the 2008 or 2009 World Championship, which united the entire city of Moscow in celebration. My film was like a separate episode of this hockey series, a "POV" film about the film. I filmed the team making the series and their interactions with the heroes, plus an additional character. This mix resulted in a separate, heartwarming film about filmmaking and hockey.
Stas: In 2021, you had another film, "Fans."
Seva: It’s a film about identity search. The premise is that two skinheads, who are also re-enactors and football fans, stage fake dates to rob homosexuals. They are in a complicated intimate relationship with each other, which is incomprehensible to them. That’s what the film is about.
Stas: How safe do you feel?
Seva: Of course, I don’t feel safe. That’s why I avoided using the abbreviation LGBT at the beginning of our interview. Being a public figure, my 25-year creative journey shows that I’m not untalented, which causes envy and irritation. I have a lot of haters. In this sense, I am vulnerable, and I take some primary security measures, but I don’t want to discuss them to keep them effective. Another thought is that I feel constrained here in Russia. It’s suffocating, with little room to breathe. What to do about it? I don’t see a way out yet. Moving abroad and asking for political asylum? I fear losing my identity as a Russian author, despite the current toxicity of the word “Russian.” I grew up here, achieved something, and strived for more. Just because a few mad people have turned everything upside down, I feel a crisis. I feel stifled, but what to do about it? I’m still thinking.
Stas: Tell us about your recent exhibition.
Seva: The last exhibition coincided with the premiere of "Hockey in My Dreams," showcasing frames from the film. Before that, there was supposed to be a participation in the "Open Art" festival six months ago, but it was canceled. The organizers tried to act as if nothing was happening, but their community center and festival had long been under attack from law enforcement and "patriotic" groups. The persistence of the lesbian organizers was commendable, but ultimately, the festival was banned.
Stas: Our time is almost up...
Seva: Let me promote my closed Telegram channel, where I continue to celebrate male beauty. It doesn’t discuss the war, featuring just a large number of beautiful guys from my archive and new shoots.
Stas: Great, it’s good to hear some positive news! Thank you for the personal conversation!
Seva: I was glad to talk.
The podcast is the intellectual property of “LGBT World Beside.” All rights reserved. The views and opinions expressed in the episodes and on the website belong solely to the guests. This podcast is supported by the European Cultural Foundation and co-financed by the European Union.
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