История создания
How the Diamond
Butterfly Was Born
Artist Yuri Kuper, the jewellers of Kostroma and 4,744 diamonds — the story behind the principal award of Eurasian cinema.
Birth of an Image
"I was working on a painting.
And suddenly a butterfly flew in
and landed on the wall.
That is how the image came to me."
— Yuri Kuper, artist
В цифрах
Процесс создания
Conception
A butterfly flew into Yuri Kuper's studio and landed on the wall. Thus was born the image of the future award — light, soaring, exquisite.
Sketches
Perforated film strip, coiled into a loose scroll. The butterfly perched at the edge. A base of darkened silver — to make the award comfortable to hold.
Diamonds
4,744 lab-grown diamonds for each statuette. Stones of the highest quality — 'not cheap, but cheaper than natural ones'.
Jewellers
The Kostroma region — Russia's jewellery capital. Craftsmen carrying knowledge through generations. Every detail refined: the wing, the antennae, the film perforation.
Complete
650 grams of perfection. Darkened silver and thousands of diamonds. An award that became a symbol of uniting cultures through cinema.
Слова создателя
«I was working on a painting in my studio. And suddenly a butterfly flew in and landed on the wall beside me. That is how the image came to me.»
«Nikita Sergeyevich said the butterfly should be made of diamonds. I said: 'Well, it cannot be made of diamonds — that would be enormously expensive…'»
«Since this is a film award, I thought: what could the butterfly be resting on? I decided the most natural thing would be film strip.»
«The craftsmen were genuinely competing — who would make the wing, who the antennae… Because they were tired of making earrings and rings. Here the bar was set very high.»
Mission
"To unite the nations that share
our values — through cinema.
To create our own award — and make it great."
— Yuri Kuper on the vision of N. S. Mikhalkov
Any truth without love is a lie — the motto of the Diamond Butterfly Film Award. The inaugural ceremony united 34 films from 17 countries.