The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (russian: Всероссийский государственный институт кинематографии имени С. А. Герасимова, meaning ''All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov''), a.k.a. VGIK, is a film school in Moscow, Russia.

History

The institute was founded in

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...

by the film director

Vladimir Gardin Vladimir Rostislavovich Gardin (russian: Влади́мир Ростисла́вович Га́рдин) (born Vladimir Rostislavovich Blagonravov (Благонра́вов); – 28 May 1965) was a pioneering Russian film director and actor who ...

as the Moscow Film School and is the oldest film school in the world. From 1934 to 1991 the film school was known as the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography (russian: Всероссийский (ранее Всесоюзный) государственный институт кинематографии). Film directors who have taught at the institute include Lev Kuleshov, Marlen Khutsiev,

Aleksey Batalov Aleksey Vladimirovich Batalov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Влади́мирович Бата́лов; 20 November 1928 – 15 June 2017) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor, film director, screenwriter and pedagogue acclaimed f ...

, Sergei Eisenstein, Mikhail Romm and Vsevolod Pudovkin. Alumni include

Sergei Bondarchuk Sergei Fyodorovich Bondarchuk (russian: Сергей Фёдорович Бондарчук, ; uk, Сергі́й Федорович Бондарчук, Serhíj Fédorovych Bondarchúk; 25 September 192020 October 1994) was a Soviet and Russian ...

, Elem Klimov, Sergei Parajanov,

Alexander Sokurov Alexander Nikolayevich Sokurov, PAR (russian: link=no, Александр Николаевич Сокуров; born 14 June 1951) is a Russian filmmaker. His most significant works include a feature film, ''Russian Ark'' (2002), filmed in a s ...

and

Andrei Tarkovsky Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky ( rus, Андрей Арсеньевич Тарковский, p=ɐnˈdrʲej ɐrˈsʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ tɐrˈkofskʲɪj; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Russian filmmaker. Widely considered one of the greates ...

. Since 1986, the school has been named after the film director and actor Sergei Gerasimov. A full member of the international CILECT network of film schools, the Institute became a university in 2008. The founding of the institute was authorized by V. I. Lenin in 1919. Its work in the early years was hampered by the shortage of film stock. It has had an illustrious history as one of the oldest film schools in existence; many great film directors have taught at the institute. During the period of the Soviet Union it was a requirement of the state to attend VGIK in order to be allowed to direct a film. . More recently, its alumni were drawn both from the USSR (Soviet Union) and from other socialist and other countries, though it was a requirement for students to first learn Russian prior to attending. It is among the few film schools which offer scriptwriting courses.

Notable alumni

Notable alumni include: *

Tengiz Abuladze Tengiz Abuladze ( ka, თენგიზ აბულაძე; 31 January 1924 – 6 March 1994) was a Georgian film director, screenwriter, theatre teacher and People's Artist of the USSR. He is regarded as one of the best Soviet directors. ...

Sitora Alieva Sitora Shokhinovna Alieva (russian: Ситора Шохиновна Алиева) – film expert, director of the IFF “Faces of love” and the IIF Sochi, artistic director of the largest Russian national film festival “Kinotavr”, official ...

Dhimitër Anagnosti Dhimitër Anagnosti (born 23 January 1936) is an Albanian film director of the 20th century. He was a member of the Parliament of Albania in the 1990s and a Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports. For his contribution in film, he received the Peo ...

Natalya Andrejchenko Natalya Eduardovna Andreychenko (russian: link=no, Ната́лья Эдуа́рдовна Андре́йченко; born May 3, 1956) is a Russian actress. Her most famous roles include the title character in ''Mary Poppins, Goodbye'' and Lyuba ...

* Anders Banke * Siddiq Barmak *

Aimée Beekman Aimée Beekman ( Malla; born 20 April 1933) is an Estonian writer noted in her country for several books said to present realistic depictions of modern life. Amongst her works is ''Valikuvõimalus'' or ''An Opportunity for Choice'', which involves ...

Vladimir Beekman Vladimir Beekman (23 August 1929 – 3 October 2009) was an Estonian writer, poet and translator. Early life and education After completing his primary education, he attended the Tallinn University of Technology and graduated in 1953 with a degre ...

Lucian Bratu Lucian Bratu (14 July 1924 – 9 May 1998) was a Romanian Jewish film director. Bratu directed ten films between 1960 and 1985. Filmography *'' Secretul cifrului'' (1959) *'' Tudor'' (1962) *'' Sărutul'' (1965) *'' Un film cu o fată fermecăt ...

Valentin Chernykh Valentin Konstantinovich Chernykh (russian: Валенти́н Константи́нович Черны́х; 12 March 1935 – 6 August 2012) was a Soviet and Russian screenwriter, playwright and director. He wrote for more than 35 films b ...

* Sofiko Chiaureli *

Revaz Chkheidze Revaz "Rezo" Chkheidze ( ka, რევაზ "რეზო" ჩხეიძე; 8 December 1926 – 3 May 2015) was a Georgian film director, People's Artist of the USSR, best known for his Soviet-era drama films, including his 1964 World Wa ...

Grigory Chukhray Grigory Naumovich Chukhray (russian: Григо́рий Нау́мович Чухра́й; uk, Григорiй Наумович Чухрай; 23 May 1921 – 28 October 2001) was a Ukrainian Soviet and Russian film director and screenwriter. ...

* Yuri Chulyukin * Souleymane Cissé *

Frank Daniel František "Frank" Daniel (April 14, 1926 – March 29, 1996) was a Czech-American screenwriter, film director and teacher. He is known for developing the sequence paradigm of screenwriting, in which a classically constructed movie can be br ...

Georgi Djulgerov Georgi Djulgerov ( bg, Георги Дюлгеров) is a Bulgarian film director, screenwriter, producer and professor at the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts. Career Djulgerov was born in Burgas, Bulgaria, on 30 September 1943. Aft ...

Maciej Drygas Maciej Drygas (born 1956 in film, 1956 in Łódź) is a Polish documentary film, documentary filmmaker. Career Following graduation from the Directing Department of the Moscow All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK), also known as th ...

Dimitri Devyatkin Dimitri Devyatkin (born July 31, 1949) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, video artist, and journalist. Devyatkin uses elements of humor, art and new technology in his work. He is known as one of the first video makers to combine a ...

Nikolai Ekk Nikolai Vladimirovich Ekk (russian: Николай Владимирович Экк; 14 June 1902 – 14 July 1976) was a Soviet and Russian film director and screenwriter. "Ekk" was in fact a pseudonym; his real surname was Ivakin (russian: � ...

Natalya Fateyeva Natalya Nikolayevna Fateyeva (russian: Наталья Николаевна Фатеева; born 23 December 1934) is a Soviet and Russian film actress and television presenter. She has appeared in more than fifty films since 1956. People's Artist ...

Yan Frid Yan Borisovich Frid (russian: Ян Борисович Фрид; 1908–2003) was a Soviet screenwriter and film director. Life and career Yan Borisovich Frid was born on May 31 in 1908 in Krasnoyarsk. In 1932 he graduated from the directing depar ...

* Aleksandr Fyodorov * Leonid Gaidai * Aleksei Alekseivich German * Marina Goldovskaya *

Anatoli Golovnya Anatoli Dmitrievich Golovnya (russian: Анатолий Дмитриевич Головня; 20 January 1900, Simferopol – 25 June 1982, Moscow) was a Soviet Union, Soviet cinematographer, renowned for his work with Vsevolod Pudovkin (with wh ...

* Stanislav Govorukhin *

Zheng Guo'en Zheng Guo'en (; January 1930 – 18 April 2019) was a Chinese film theorist, cinematographer, director, and educator. A longtime professor at Beijing Film Academy, he trained many prominent Chinese filmmakers including Zhang Yimou. He received ...

Lyudmila Gurchenko Lyudmila Markovna Gurchenko (née Gurchenko; russian: link=no, Людмила Марковна Гурченко; 12 November 1935 – 30 March 2011) was a popular Soviet and Russian actress, singer and entertainer. She was given the honorary title ...

Iris Gusner Iris Gusner (born Trutnov, Trautenau 16 January 1941) is a German film director and screenwriter. Life Gusner's father, Hans Walter Beyer, was a council official who was killed in the Second World War, war. She took her name from her mother, wh ...

Alexander Gutman Alexander Ilyich Gutman (russian: Алекса́ндр Ильи́ч Гу́тман; 29 January 1945 – 17 February 2016), also spelt as Alexandre Goutman and Aleksandr Gutman, was a Russian film director of Jewish origin. During a 30-year ca ...

* Jerzy Hoffman *

Rustam Ibragimbekov Rustam Mammad Ibrahim oghlu Ibrahimbeyov (or Ibrahimbekov; az, Rüstəm Məmməd İbrahim oğlu İbrahimbəyov; russian: Рустам Мамед Ибрагим оглы Ибрагимбеков; 5 February 1939 – 11 March 2022) was a Soviet a ...

* Otar Iosseliani *

Roman Karmen Roman Lazarevich Karmen (real name Efraim Leyzorovich Korenman) (russian: Роман Лазаревич Кармен; – 28 April 1978) was a Soviet film director, war cinematographer, documentary filmmaker, journalist, screenwriter, pedagogue and ...

* Shapi Kaziev *

Edmond Keosayan Edmond Gareginovich Keosayan ( hy, Էդմոնդ Քյոսայան; russian: Эдмонд Гарегинович Кеосаян; 9 October 1936 – 21 April 1994) was an Armenian Soviet film director and musician. * 1952-54 - worked in Yerevan watc ...

Ilya Khrzhanovsky Ilya Andreyevich Khrzhanovsky (russian: Илья́ Андре́евич Хржановский; born 11 August 1975) is a Russian-born film director, screenwriter, film producer and member of the European Film Academy. His father Andrei Khrzhano ...

* Marlen Khutsiev * Naum Kleiman * Elem Klimov * Andrei Konchalovsky * Alim Kouliev *

Larisa Kronberg Larisa Ivanovna Kronberg (also known as Larisa Kronberg-Sobolevskaya and Larisa Sobolevskaya, russian: Лариса Ивановна Кронберг; May 23, 1929 – April 23, 2017) was a Soviet Russian actress and a KGB agent. Biography K ...

Lev Kulidzhanov Lev Aleksandrovich Kulidzhanov (russian: Лев Александрович Кулиджанов; 19 March 1924 – 17 February 2002) was a Soviet and Russian film director, screenwriter and professor at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography. ...

Eldar Kuliev Eldar Kaisynovich Kuliev (31 December 1951 – 14 January 2017) was a Russian Soviet film director and screenwriter. He was born in Frunze to Kaisyn Kuliev, an acclaimed Balkar poet and Maka, his Ingush wife, during the deportation of the Balk ...

* Tamila Koulieva-Karantinaki * Savva Kulish *

Leida Laius Leida Laius (26 March 1923 – 6 April 1996, in Tallinn) was an Estonian film director. In 1950 she graduated from . In 1962 she graduated from All-Union State Institute of Cinematography. Since 1960 she worked at Tallinnfilm. Filmography * ''Õ ...

Anton Lapenko Anton Vyacheslavovich Lapenko (russian: Антон Вячеславович Лапенко; September 1, 1986 in Zelenograd, Moscow, USSR) is a Russian film and theater actor. Biography Anton Lapenko grew up in a family of 16 kids. In 2011 he ...

Pavel Lebeshev Pavel Timofeevich Lebeshev (russian: Павел Тимофеевич Лебешев; 15 February 1940, in Moscow – 23 February 2003, in MoscowJay Leyda Jay Leyda (February 12, 1910 – February 15, 1988)David Stirk and Elena Pinto Simon in was an American avant-garde filmmaker and film historian, noted for his work on U.S, Soviet, and Chinese cinema, as well as his documentary compilations on ...

Việt Linh Việt Linh (b. Nguyễn Việt Linh in Saigon, French Indochina (now southern Vietnam), 1952) is a prominent Vietnamese film director. She currently lives and works in Paris, France. Her films have been shown in Vietnam, France, the United States ...

* Sergei Loznitsa * Oleg Makara * Mohammad Malas * Vladimir Menshov * Rachel Messerer * Márta Mészáros * Nikita Mikhalkov *

Aleksandr Misharin Alexander Sergeevich Misharin (born January 21, 1959 in Sverdlovsk, USSR) is the former governor of Sverdlovsk Oblast, a region in Russia. He was appointed in 2009 after resignation of the previous governor, Eduard Rossel and resigned on May 14 ...

* Alexander Mitta * Kira Muratova *

Vladimir Nakhabtsev Vladimir Dmitrievich Nakhabtsev (russian: Владимир Дмитриевич Нахабцев; 16 July 1938, Korolyov, Moscow Oblast — 10 March 2002, Moscow) was a Soviet cinematographer and actor, renowned for his work with Eldar Ryazanov and ...

* Rodion Nakhapetov * Khodzha Kuli Narliyev *

Georgy Natanson Georgy Grigorievich Nathanson (russian: Гео́ргий Григо́рьевич Натансо́н; 23 May 1921 – 17 December 2017) was a Soviet and Russian theater and cinema director, screenwriter and playwright. Worked as director at Mosfilm ...

* Rufina Nifontova *

Mikko Niskanen Mikko Johannes Niskanen (31 January 1929 – 25 November 1990) was a Finnish film director, actor, producer and screenwriter. He directed more than 40 films between 1956 and 1988. His most acclaimed films include '' The Boys'' (1962), ''U ...

Rashid Nugmanov Rashid Nugmanov (also written Rachid Nougmanov; russian: Рашид Мусаевич Нугманов; born March 19, 1954, in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan) is a Kazakhs, Kazakh film director, dissent, dissident, political activistDruker, Jeremy, (2003-11- ...

Arsha Ovanesova Arsha Amartsumovna Ovanesova (, ; 1906 – 1990) was a Soviet Armenian documentary film director, screenplay writer, actress, and educator. Biography Arsha Ovanesova was born on December 23, 1906, in either Shusha or Baku, in the Russian Emp ...

* Yuri Ozerov * Sergei Parajanov * Aleksandr Petrov *

Juris Podnieks Juris Podnieks (December 5, 1950, Riga – June 23, 1992, Kuldīga District) was a Latvian film director and producer. He graduated from the Soviet VGIK film school in 1975 after which he started working at the Riga Film Studio. He became a ...

Gennadi Poloka Gennadi Ivanovich Poloka (russian: Генна́дий Ива́нович Поло́ка; 15 July 1930, Kuybyshev – 5 December 2014, Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. People's Artist of Russia (19 ...

* Galina Polskikh *

Ami Priyono Lembu Amiluhur Priyawardhana Priyono (23 October 1939 – 6 June 2001), generally referred to as Ami Prijono (Perfected Spelling: Ami Priyono) was an Indonesian film director and actor. He was married to the feminist writer Julia Suryakusuma ...

* Vsevolod Pudovkin *

Andres Puustusmaa Andres Puustusmaa (born 19 July 1971) is an Estonian film director, actor, screenwriter, professor, and photographer who began his career in the early 1990s. He has worked extensively in his native Estonia, as well as in Russia. Early life and e ...

Irma Raush Irma Yakovlevna Raush (russian: Ирма Яковлевна Рауш; born 21 April 1938) is a Russian actress and the first wife of film director Andrei Tarkovsky. She is best known for her role as Durochka in ''Andrei Rublev'' and as Ivan's moth ...

Eduard Rozovsky Eduard Aleksanrovich Rozovsky (russian: Эдуард Александрович Розовский; 14 December 1926 – 26 July 2011) was a Soviet cinematographer and cameraman, whose film credits include ''Amphibian Man'' and ''White Sun of the ...

* Eldar Ryazanov *

Samson Samsonov Samson Iosifovich Samsonov (russian: Самсо́н Ио́сифович Самсо́нов; 23 February 1921 – 31 August 2002) was a Soviet and Russian film director and screenwriter, he was granted the honorary title of People's Artist of the ...

* Abderrahmane Sissako *

Mikhail Schweitzer Mikhail (Moisei) Abramovich Schweitzer (russian: Михаил (Моисей) Абрамович Швейцер, 16 February 1920, Perm – 2 June 2000, Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian film director and screenwriter. People's Artist of the USSR (1 ...

* Karen Shakhnazarov * Giorgi Shengelaia *

Eldar Shengelaya Eldar Shengelaia ( ka, ელდარ შენგელაია; russian: Эльда́р Никола́евич Шенгела́я; born 26 January 1933) is a Georgian and Soviet film director and screenwriter who directed ten films between 1 ...

* Larisa Shepitko * Vasily Shukshin *

Sjumandjaja Sjumandjaja ( Perfected Spelling: Syumanjaya; 5 August 1933 – 19 July 1985) was an Indonesian director, screenwriter, and actor. During his career he wrote numerous films, directed fourteen, acted in ten, and produced nine; he also won ...

* Lyubov Sokolova * Aleksandr Sokurov *

Elena Solovey Elena Solovey (born 24 February 1947) is a Soviet-Russian film actress. She has appeared in more than 60 films since 1966. She won the award for Best Supporting Actress in the film '' Faktas'' at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival. Selected filmogra ...

* Sergey Solovyov *

* Viktoriya Tokareva * Alexei Uchitel * Mikhail Vartanov *

Natalya Vavilova Natalya Dmitrievna Vavilova (russian: Наталья Дмитриевна Вавилова, born 26 January 1959) is a Russian film actress. Biography Vavilova started her career as an actress at the age of fourteen. She appeared in several pic ...

Luz Valdez Milagros Bernardo, better known by her screen name Luz Valdez-Paje (born September 9, 1940) is a Filipina actress. The Valdez screen name was given to her in 1958 by Narcisa de Leon, producer and co-founder of LVN Pictures, as she felt that M ...

Oleg Vidov Oleg Borisovich Vidov (russian: Олег Борисович Видов; June 11, 1943 – May 15, 2017) was a Soviet Russian American actor, film director and producer. He appeared in 50 films beginning in 1961. A refugee from his native Sovi ...

Gheorghe Vodă Gheorghe Vodă (December 24, 1934 in Văleni – February 24, 2007 in Chişinău) was a writer, screenwriter and film director from Moldova. Among the participants of the funeral of the late Gheorghe Vodă were Arcadie Suceveanu, vice pres ...

* Eduard Volodarsky * Konrad Wolf * Francheska Yarbusova * Vadim Yusov *

Vytautas Žalakevičius Vytautas Žalakevičius (14 April 1930 – 12 November 1996) was a Soviet and Lithuanian film director and screenwriter. His 1973 film '' That Sweet Word: Liberty!'' won the Golden Prize at the 8th Moscow International Film Festival. Biography ...

Faculty

In 2015-2016 the Institute featured the following faculties: *Directing Faculty *Acting Faculty *Arts Faculty *Filming Faculty *Animation and Multimedia Faculty *Scripting and Film Studies Faculty *Production and Economics Faculty *Inter-faculty departments and labs: **Department of History and Philosophy **Department of Cultural Theory, History and Esthetics **Laboratory of Film Drama **Laboratory of Painting and Drawing **Laboratory of Arts **Laboratory of International Film History **Laboratory of Classical and Stop-motion Animation **Laboratory of Computer Graphics and Multimedia

References

External links

vgik.info
Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography's official website (in

Russian language Russian (russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, link=no, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the First language, native language of the Russians, and belongs to the Indo-European langua ...

)
vgik.livejournal.com
Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography's student community (in

) {{authority control Film organizations in the Soviet Union Educational institutions established in 1919 Universities and institutes established in the Soviet Union Universities in Moscow 1919 establishments in Russia Film schools in Russia