Yakov Gribinenko
“I created seven films, they were related to history, the Second World War,” says Iakov Gribinenko. – And I really wanted to get away from this subject, to rise to a new level, to make something more modern. And since I love the works of Vasily Shukshin, Victor Astafyev, Valentin Rasputin, I tried to tell about the Moldovan village through the prism of my favorite writers. About our traditions, the soul of the people, about its peculiarities. So I decided to write a script about rural life.
The story is connected with his hometown Bessarabca, also Iakov spent his childhood and youth in the villages of his grandparents. All the plots are from there, he combined them with artistic means into one love story, where two lonelinesses meet.
“It was important for me to show the Moldovan village not from the point of view of satire, as is common nowadays. That Moldovans are not only about wine. Shukshin showed the Siberian village through the prism of the purity of the Russian people. And I wanted to tell about us in the same way. To show that Moldovans are also a very deep moral people, searching, doubting. Yes, of course, with their own problems. To show through the prism of provincial vision, purity of relations, somewhat naive perception of the world”.
The main problem was financing the filming. There was no budget at all, as such. “Actors, crew, the whole team – we did everything for free, – says Iakov. – I took a small loan of 3 thousand euros, and it flew literally in a week. Money is still needed for gasoline, props, food, etc. We teamed up with the guys, they helped, and it was valuable. But the movie was still a long way from being finished. Then Pavel Sidorenko, the general producer, came along and helped bring this ship to the end”.
Iakov Gribinenko graduated from the theater department of Slavic University in 2016, specializing in theater and film actor (course of Iurie Harmelin, Maestru în Artă al RM). From 2013 to 2024 he worked as an actor at the State Youth Drama Theater “From Roses Street” named after Iurie Harmelin. In 2025, he was accepted into the troupe of the Chekhov State Russian Drama Theater.
“Iuri Arkadyevich Harmelin – my teacher, I will even say that the second father, he created me as a creative person – admits Gribinenko. – I was trained to write scripts at VGIK, in the school of Alexander Mitta. But everything in me laid Iuri Harmelin: how to perceive the world, art, how to feel it, and much more. And I am immensely happy to be his student. Moreover, everything I do in the future is a continuation of what he laid down. As Stanislavsky said: it is necessary to be able to ‘sharpen’ your outlook and artistic taste in such a way that the talent you have in you can manifest itself harmoniously.
“Turceanca” – his first movie, which can be called commercial. Previously, the creative association BessarabKino created mainly author’s art house films.
How successful is the distribution of the movie? The screenwriter answers this question in a peculiar way: “What does success even mean in the Moldovan market? Bringing the film to the theater is already good. But our viewer is not brought up to go to the movies, but waits for a link on YouTube. We realized that the audience would not come, and we would not recoup the money invested through distribution. From this point of view, only one movie was successful in Moldova – “Carbon” by Ion Borsa. Our viewer does not believe in Moldovan cinema yet and treats it ironically.
Now “Turceanca” has begun to be shown in all corners of the republic. “In the movie, the characters speak Russian and the state language, as in our country,” explains Gribinenko. – And everyone understands each other. Nevertheless, we made a dubbing into Romanian to make it convenient for everyone, for the first time in Moldova. It was dubbed by famous Moldovan artists. We plan to reach Romania in the future. And also the Moldovan diaspora in the USA, because there are many nostalgic viewers there, including those from rural areas. In the future we envision promotion on streaming platforms, and other opportunities”.
How do you make a movie when you don’t have money? You try to get a producer involved in the project. But he knows how to shoot for money. And if there’s no money? Then you have to be able to negotiate, to strategize. “For example, now we are preparing a project “Stepa and Massachusetts”, we will shoot in the summer, – shares the plans of the director. – There is no money for it too, but we are trying to negotiate with various organizations that can provide gasoline, food, etc. These are these moments – how to get out – this is not taught in any educational institutions. They only teach you how to do it right, how to allocate funds correctly. And what if you live in Moldova, a country where there is no movie industry? Filmmakers here are waiting for money to come in. But it’s not coming anytime soon. So you won’t shoot anything? You’re going to sit and wait? I’m not one of those, I just shoot, even in the absence of funds. Whether it’s good or bad is another matter. The main thing is to go to the end and give yourself honestly.”
Iakov Gribinenko’s hopes for the development of domestic cinematography are linked to the development of foreign investment. He has been involved in cinema for eight years, and over these years he has realized that only by hoping for government support nothing can be achieved. And he advises aspiring screenwriters and directors to look for businessmen, entrepreneurs, etc., and convince them with their ideas. If business and cinematography exist in harmony, the movie will go on. Such symbiosis is already forming in Romania, not to mention Western countries, where businessmen and cinema are on the same path. And this is simply a fact.
Iakov Gribinenko made the right choice. “Honestly speaking, the most important thing in everything is my students. I have been teaching stage movement and acting at the Yuri Harmelin City Theater Lyceum since the first grade. They look at me, and I see: they want to become artists. I teach them to be not just actors, but authors. Now the time is such that you have to be everything: to act, to write, and much more. Being synthetic. And how can I bring them into the arts if I haven’t achieved anything myself? Playing in the theater is not enough. You have to be successful in different fields of activity. And don’t be afraid: if you dream, go all the way. And then – as God will give you.
