pontieri

This book is a first and long-awaited study of the directorial work of the animation master Fëdor Khitruk (1917-2012), an artist who formed in the tradition of classical cel animation only to break the conventions once he turned into a director; a liaison between artists and authorities; a personality who promoted daring films to be created in the Soviet Union dominated by socialist realism; and a teacher and supporter of young artists that continued to carry on his legacy long after the Soviet empire collapsed.

Fëdor Khitruk: A Look at Soviet Animation through the Work of One Master reveals Khitruk’s mastery in the art of the moving image and his critical role as a director of films that changed the look of Soviet animation and its relation to the animation world within and beyond the Eastern Bloc. Based on archival research, personal interviews, published memoirs, and perceptive analyses of Khitruk’s production of films for children and adults, this study is a must-read for scholars in Soviet art and culture as well as readers fascinated by traditional animation art.

Laura Pontieri (Ph.D. Yale University, 2006) taught Soviet cinema and European animation at the University of Toronto for many years, appeared as a speaker at various events, and published several articles and reviews on Russian and Czech animation in North American and European journals. She is the editor of the Russian animation section of Directory of World Cinema: Russia 2 (Intellect, 2015) and the author of the book Soviet Animation and the Thaw of the 1960s. Not Only for Children (John Libbey Publishing, 2012).