State Committee for Cinematography
The next step was the need for the script's approval from the State Committee for Cinematography. By that time Shepitko had already gained a reputation of an inconvenient director. In 1973, when she raised the topic of making the film, the answer from an official of the State Committee for Cinematography was a firm negative. The director did not spark a confrontation but she also did not offer any other projects. Throughout her directing career, Shepitko only started working on a film if she felt that "if she does not do it, then she dies."