Still Waters

“… After the film “Forgotten Melodies for the Flute,” our paths with Emile diverged. For almost eight years we didn’t work together. And we didn’t part because of some conflict or a quarrel. Perhaps we parted because our creative interests stopped matching. By the way, I suggested to Emile that he take part in the work on “The Promised Skies,” but that material didn’t interest him. Emile refused. In turn, he offered me his projects, but they didn’t interest me either. Still, that didn’t affect our personal relationship in any way. And when in the autumn of 1997 a plot for a new comedy about love came to me, I immediately thought: we need to write it together with Emile. Emile accepted my proposal with joy, and we started writing “Quiet Desires” (Тихие омуты). We were both worried about how our work would go after such a long break. But it seemed as if there had been no separation—as if we had finished our last piece only yesterday. For almost half a year we worked on the script and made several versions. By April 1998 the script was ready. …”