Tarkovsky became a film director during the mid and late 1950s, a period referred to as the Khrushchev Thaw, during which Soviet society opened to foreign films, literature and music, among other things.
tɑːɹkˈɑːvski bɪkˌeɪm ɐ fˈɪlm dᵻɹˈɛktɚ dˈʊɹɹɪŋ ðə mˈɪd ænd lˈeɪt nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd fˈɪfti z, ɐ pˈiəɹɪəd ɹᵻfˈɜːd tʊ æz ðə kɹˈuːstʃɛf θˈɔː, dˈʊɹɹɪŋ wˌɪtʃ sˈoʊviət səsˈaɪəɾi ˈoʊpənd tə fˈɔːɹən fˈɪlmz, lˈɪɾɚɹᵻtʃɚɹ ænd mjˈuːzɪk, ɐmˌʌŋ ˈʌðɚ θˈɪŋz.