The literary debut of Sergei Kaledin produced the effect of a bomb exploding: the stories “The Humble Cemetery” (1987; the film of the same name directed by A. Itygilov - 1989) and “Stroibat” (1989; the play “Gaudeamus” staged based on it by Lev Dodin) were published by Novy Mir. watched by viewers in more than 20 countries) secured the author a prominent place in the history of Russian literature, although their path to the reader was long and difficult - due to censorship obstacles. Some critics called Kaledin a “denigrator” and a “grave digger,” others wrote that he ushered in a “new wave” of harsh prose of the perestroika era. “I was interested in a person with an undeveloped voice apparatus, who cannot talk or write about himself,” the writer explained why his heroes became very unusual characters. Kaledin’s next books continued this line. “Black and White Cinema” tells the true stories of real people with whom fate brought the writer in one way or another. And they are told in the best traditions of Russian classics.