ymfilms - Magia Russica


Amos Oz - The Nature of Dreams	Magia Russica Russian Animation in Soviet Times	The Good Ship Ori

עברית

New: Special DVD edition of “Magia Russica”, with unique bonus material – additional interview and tour in Yuri Norstein’s studious. Available only in our online shop

Magia Russica
Russian Animation in Soviet Times
Israel, Russia | 2004 | 96 min

A poetic view of Russian animation and of cultural and social transformations Russian society has been gone through.
It is about multi faceted and humorous animation, almost never exposed to western eyes.

	Credits
Directors and Producers Yonathan & Masha Zur Producers in Russia Elena Kassavina, Natalya Chernishova Cinematography Yonathan Zur, Anton Mikhalev Interviews Masha Zur Editing Yonathan Zur Sound Editing Aric Deri Participants Fyodor Khitruk, Yuri Norstein, Eduard Nazarov, Garri Bardin, Joseph Boyarsky, Alexander Tatarsky, Danny Mendelevich, Felix Kandel, Alexander Kurliandsky World Sales Cinephil Poster and credits' illustrations design Irene Bat-Zvi
	Synopsis
In 1935, three Walt Disney films were screened in Moscow. Fyodor Khytruk, then a young art student, saw these films and didn't believe his eyes; he was convinced that he had seen a miracle unfolding before him. What he didn't know was that one day he himself would become one of the greats of Russian animation. Through his personal story, we discover a magical art form that remained closed behind the Iron Curtainfor decades. Compared to the other arts – especially literature and Cinema – the animated films, considered a children's art form, passed relatively easily through the strict censorship of the Soviet Union. Like all Soviet institutions, the animation studios Soyuzmultfilm enjoyed full government support, a fact that provided the artists with generous production budgets as well as distribution in 112,000 cinemas around the USSR. This situation allowed for the development of a tradition of animation style that was not only for children. Magia Russica moves between the sights and sounds of the Russian landscape, and into those of the animated films themselves. The films reflected not only the difficult though humor-filled Soviet experience, but also the rich cultural heritage of Russia, with Pushkin as its spiritual father. Today, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, as Russia makes thetransition into capitalism, the animation artists discover that the rules of the market and ratings are not necessarily less restrictivethan ideological censorship. In a rare look into the artistic process, at the creation of magic, the artists share their ideas about art, about cinema and about the way in which these should be related to. Magia Russica is guided by the spirit of their words.

	Festivals
Haifa International Film Festival Israel 2004 - competition It's All True Brazil 2005 – competition Mediawave Hungary 2005 Gibara Cuba 2005 - competition Dokfest munchen Germany 2005 Annecy (Animation festival) France 2005 Art Film Festival Slovak Rep. 2005 Anima Mundi Brazil 2005 CAF animation Korea 2005 Fantoche (Animation festival) Switzerland 2005 Umea International Film Festival Sweden 2005 Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated films Germany 2005 Cork International Film Festival Ireland 2005 Leeds International Film Festival UK 2005 Kassel Dokumentar Film und Videofest Germany 2005 Cinanima Portugal2005 International Film Festival of Mar Del Plata Argentina 2005 - competition Cracow Animation Festival Poland 2005 Talin Black Nights Film Festival Estonia 2005 Anima (Animation festival) Belgium 2006 ReAnimacja (Animation festival) Poland 2006 BIMINI (Animation festival) Latvia 2006 Gottingen International Film Festival Germany 2006 SICAF Korea2006 Zlin children film festival Czech rep. 2006 Animafest Zagreb Croatia 2006 Hiroshima International Animation Festival Japan2006 Taiwan International Animation Festival China 2006 Dani Filma Bosnia & Herzegovina 2006 - competition AFO International Film Festival Czech rep. 2006 – competition International Animation Festival Istanbul Turkey 2006 Les Nuits Magiques France 2006 Multivision International animation Film Festival Russia 2006 VIEWS OF THE WORLD Documentary & Animated F.F Cyprus2007 DOKUBAZAAR Slovenia 2009 Hermitage Museum in Amsterdam The Netherlands 2011

	Broadcasters
Channel 8 Israel Canal+ Poland TVP Poland YLE Finland Parliamentary Channel Greece ETV Estonia TV Cultura Brazil

BUY DVD

Gallery

Back to top

Site by: Sheliy chen & Or Moran \| write an email to us