''Vasya'' is a 2002 American

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

written, directed and produced by

Andrei Zagdansky Andrei Zagdansky (born March 9, 1956) is an transnational independent documentary filmmaker and producer originally from Ukraine. Biography Zagdansky attended Kiev State Institute of Theatrical Arts, graduating in 1979. He worked as a film directo ...

. The film tells the story of

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground (S ...

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

Vasily Sitnikov Vasily Yakovlevich Sitnikov (russian: Василий Яковлевич Ситников; August 19, 1915, Novo-Rakitino, Tambov Governorate - November 28, 1987, New York) was a Russian painter. He was one of the most vivid "landmark" figures of the ...

, who was declared insane in early 1940s by the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

authorities. A man without a passport, in and out of mental asylums, he was the key and often "larger than life" figure of the nonconformist art movement in the Soviet Union. The movie portrays the struggles of the painter as he meets an American man that wants to buy his work. In 1975 fearing prosecution and another involuntary commitment to a mental asylum he immigrated to Austria and then to the United States. He died virtually unknown in 1987 in NYC. A number of prominent artists appear in the film, such as Dmitri Plavinsky Vladimir Titov, Kevin Clarke, poet and publisher Konstantyn K. Kuzminsky and art collector

Norton Dodge Norton Townshend Dodge (June 15, 1927 – November 5, 2011) was an American economist and educator who amassed one of the largest collections of Soviet-era art outside the Soviet Union. Education and teaching A native Oklahoman named for his ...

, who has amassed one of the largest collections of Soviet-era art outside the Soviet Union.

Additional Credits

*Animation by

Signe Baumane Signe Baumane (born 7 August 1964) is a Latvian animator, fine artist, illustrator and writer, currently living and working in New York City. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, she was a 2005 Fellow in Film of ...

*Original score by

Alexander Goldstein Alexander Goldstein (born August 10, 1948), also credited as ''Aleksandr Goldshteyn'' and ''Aleksandr Goldstein'' in films, is a Russian–American music composer, conductor, songwriter, record producer, film producer, director, editor and is ...

External links

*
Vasya on AZ Films L.L.C. web site
2002 films American documentary films 2000s English-language films 2000s Russian-language films Soviet art Documentary films about painters Works about outsider art Films directed by Andrei Zagdansky 2000s American films {{art-documentary-film-stub