Tarkovsky studied film at Moscow's VGIK under filmmaker Mikhail Romm, and subsequently directed his first five feature films in the Soviet Union: "Ivan's Childhood" (1962), "Andrei Rublev" (1966), "Solaris" (1972), "Mirror" (1975), and "Stalker" (1979). After years of creative conflict with state film authorities, Tarkovsky left the country in 1979 and made his final two films abroad; "Nostalghia" (1983) and "The Sacrifice" (1986) were produced in Italy and Sweden respectively. In 1986, he also published a book about cinema and art entitled "Sculpting in Time". He died of cancer later that year.