Donyo Donev ( bg, Доньо Донев; 27 June 192928 November 2007) was a Bulgarian animator, director, art director, comics artist
and cartoonist. He is best known as the "father of
The Three Fools"
[Donyo Donev biographical documentary by the Bulgarian National TV]
/ref> – an animated humorous sequence whose short episodes were continuously released during the 1970s and 1980s. His biting satirical caricatures were published in most of the Bulgarian newspapers.
Donev's works are characterized with simplified lines, the plasticity of the motion, and vivid expressiveness. He was the first to use a deformed manner of speaking and interjection
An interjection is a word or expression that occurs as an utterance on its own and expresses a spontaneous feeling or reaction. It is a diverse category, encompassing many different parts of speech, such as exclamations ''(ouch!'', ''wow!''), curse ...
s as a sound image of a second plan, accompanied with the sounds of drums and bagpipe
Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, Nor ...
s.
Biography and career
Donyo Donev was born on 27 June 1929 in Berkovitsa
Berkovitsa ( bg, Берковица ) is a town and ski resort in northwestern Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Berkovitsa Municipality, Montana Province and is close to the town of Varshets. , it has a population of 13 ...
, a small town in the northwest part of Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
. He enrolled at the National Academy of Arts
The National Academy of Arts ( bg, Национална художествена академия) is an institution of higher education in Sofia, Bulgaria. It is the oldest and most renowned school of arts in the country.
History
The National ...
in Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
, where he studied graphic art in 1949–1954 under the eminent Bulgarian artist Ilia Beshkov
Ilia may refer to:
Science and medicine
*''Apatura ilia'' or lesser purple emperor, a butterfly
*Ilium (bone) (plural: "ilia"), pelvic bone
People
* Ilia (name), numerous
**Ilia II, the current Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia
Places
*Ilia, ...
. After graduating in the academy he attended a postgraduate course in 1959 in the Moscow's Soyuzmultfilm
Soyuzmultfilm ( rus, Союзмультфи́льм, p=səˌjʉsmʊlʲtˈfʲilʲm , ''Union Cartoon'') (also known as SMF Animation Studio in English, Formerly known as Soyuzdetmultfilm) is a Russian animation studio based in Moscow. Launched in ...
.
He worked as an artist with the Bulgarian paper "Evening News" (1954–1956). During the period 1956–1970 Donev was an animator and director in the department of animation in the Studio of Featured Films (SFF), Sofia. Since 1970 he was a head of a film unit in the Studio of Animated Films (SAF), Sofia where he stayed until 1993. In 1970 was released the first short episode of '' The Three Fools''. This animated caricature became popular throughout the country. Subsequently, it were released nine more episodes in the 1970s and 1980s. The sequence turned into a badge of Donev' creative works. There are not a single episode of them that was not awarded at the foreign film festivals. Some of his other notable works are ''Happy End'' (1969), ''Clever Village'' (1972), ''De Facto'' (1973) and ''Causa Perduta'' (1977). There are also numerous awards he received for his other animated films through the years.
In the 1990s Donev was an editor-in-chief of the satirical paper named after his famous animated characters The Three Fools. He was also an editor in "Fras" (bang!) – a magazine for humour and fun. As a cartoonist he constantly took part in exhibitions in Bulgaria and abroad.
Donev has been a professor at the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts
The Krastyo Sarafov National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts (commonly referred to as NATFIZ) is a performing, cinematic and media arts institution of higher education based in Sofia. It is the first Bulgarian university in the field of theatr ...
for years, where he taught directing of animation. He was decorated with the high government prize the Order Of Saint Cyril And Saint Methodius.
Donyo Donev died in 2007 at the age of 78.
Selected filmography
The three fools sequence
*1970 – The Three Fools / Trimata glupatsi
*1972 – Three Fools as Hunters / Trimata glupatsi – lovtsi
*1974 – The Three Fools and the Cow / Trimata glupatsi i kravata
*1977 – The Three Fools and the Tree / Trimata glupatsi i darvoto
*1978 – The Three Fools and the Fool Woman / Trimata glupatsi i glupachkata
*1979 – Three Fools as Athletes / Trimata glupatsi – atleti
*1980 – Three Fools as Pedagogues / Trimata glupatsi – pedagozi
*1982 – Three Fools as Fishermen / Trimata glupatsi – ribari
*1989 – The Three Fools in the Restaurant / Trimata glupatsi v restoranta
*1990 – Three Fools Non-stop / Trimata glupatzi non-stop
Other
*1969 – ''Happy End'' / ''Hepi End''
*1972 – ''Clever Village'' / ''Umno selo''
*1973 – ''De Facto'' / ''De fakto''
*1977 – ''Causa Perduta'' / ''Kauza perduta''
*1985 – ''We Called Them Montagues and Capulets'' / ''Narekohme gi Monteki i Kapuleti''
*1988 – ''Wolf's Suite'' / ''Valcha syuita''
Some awards
*1988 – Golden Mikeldi for ''Wolf's Suite'' – Bilbao International Festival of Documentary and Short Films[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1085267/awards IMDB awards list ]
*1989 – Silver Dragon for ''Wolf's Suite'' – Cracow Film Festival
References
External links
*
Donyo Donev films on YouTube
Videoportrait on Bulgarian National Television
Donyo Donev - Portraits
Donyo Donev - Cartoons
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donev, Donyo
Bulgarian artists
1929 births
2007 deaths
Bulgarian cartoonists
Bulgarian animators
Bulgarian animated film directors
Bulgarian caricaturists
Bulgarian comics artists
Bulgarian satirists
People from Berkovitsa