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Yuri Borisovich Norstein, PAR (russian: link=no, Ю́рий Бори́сович Норште́йн; born 15 September 1941) is a Soviet and Russian
animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video games ...
best known for his animated shorts '' Hedgehog in the Fog'' and '' Tale of Tales''. Since 1981, he has been working on a feature film called ''
The Overcoat "The Overcoat" (russian: Шине́ль, translit. Shinyél’; sometimes translated as "The Cloak") is a short story by Russian author Nikolai Gogol, published in 1842. The story has had a great influence on Russian literature. Eugène-Me ...
'', based on the short story by
Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...
of the same name. According to ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
'', "he is considered by many to be not just the best animator of his era, but the best of all time".


Life and career


Childhood and early life

Yuri Norstein was born to a
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family in the village of Andreyevka,
Penza Oblast Penza Oblast (russian: Пе́нзенская о́бласть, ''Penzenskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Penza. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 1,386,186. Geogr ...
, during his parents'
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
evacuation. He grew up in the Maryina Roshcha District of
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
. After studying at an art school, Norstein initially found work at a furniture factory. Then he finished a two-year animation course and found employment at studio
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 ...
in 1961. The first film that he participated in as an animator was ''Who Said "Meow"?'' (1962).


Film career

After working as an animation artist in some fifty films, Norstein got the chance to direct his own. In 1968, he debuted with ''25th October, the First Day'', sharing directorial credit with Arkadiy Tyurin. The film used the artwork of 1920s-era Soviet artists
Nathan Altman Nathan Isaiovych Altman (Ukrainian: , transliterated: ''Natan Isaiovych Altman''; – December 12, 1970) was a Russian, Soviet and Ukrainian artist, Cubist painter, stage designer and book illustrator. Early life He was born in Vinnytsia, i ...
and Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin. The next film in which he had a major role was ''
The Battle of Kerzhenets ''The Battle of Kerzhenets'' (russian: Се́ча при Ке́рженце; tr.: ''Secha pri Kerzhentse'') is a 1971 Soviet animated film directed by Ivan Ivanov-Vano and Yuri Norstein. The film is set to music by Rimsky-Korsakov and uses Russ ...
'' (1971), a co-production with Russian animation director Ivan Ivanov-Vano under whose direction Norstein had earlier worked on 1969's ''Times of the Year''. Throughout the 1970s Norstein continued to work as an animator in many films (a more complete list can be found a
IMDb
, and also directed several. As the decade progressed his animation style became ever more sophisticated, looking less like flat cut-outs and more like smoothly-moving paintings or sophisticated pencil sketches. His most famous film is '' Tale of Tales'', a non-linear, autobiographical film about growing up in the postwar Soviet world. Norstein uses a special technique in his
animation Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...
, involving multiple glass planes to give his animation a
three-dimensional Three-dimensional space (also: 3D space, 3-space or, rarely, tri-dimensional space) is a geometric setting in which three values (called '' parameters'') are required to determine the position of an element (i.e., point). This is the inform ...
look. The camera is placed at the top looking down on a series of glass planes about a meter deep (one every 25–30 cm). The individual glass planes can move horizontally as well as toward and away from the camera (to give the effect of a character moving closer or further away). For many years, he has collaborated with his wife, the artist Francheska Yarbusova, and the cinematographer Aleksandr Zhukovskiy. Throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, Norstein's animations were showered with both state and international awards. Then, in a bitter twist of irony, he was fired from
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 ...
in 1985 for working too slowly on his latest film, a (presumably) feature-length adaptation of
Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...
's ''
The Overcoat "The Overcoat" (russian: Шине́ль, translit. Shinyél’; sometimes translated as "The Cloak") is a short story by Russian author Nikolai Gogol, published in 1842. The story has had a great influence on Russian literature. Eugène-Me ...
''. By that time he had been working on it with his usual small team of three people for two years and had finished ten minutes. In April 1993, Norstein and three other leading animators (
Fyodor Khitruk Fyodor Savelyevich Khitruk (russian: Фёдор Савельевич Хитрук; 1 May 1917 – 3 December 2012) was a Soviet and Russian animator and animation director. Biography Khitruk was born in Tver (Russian Empire), into a Jewish ...
, Andrei Khrzhanovsky, and
Eduard Nazarov Eduard Vasilievich Nazarov (russian: link=no, Эдуард Васильевич Назаров; 23 November 1941 – 11 September 2016) was a Soviet and Russian animator, screenwriter, voice actor, book illustrator and educator, artistic director ...
) founded the Animation School and Studio (SHAR Studio) in Russia. The Russian Cinema Committee is among the share-holders of the studio. To this day, Norstein is still working on ''
The Overcoat "The Overcoat" (russian: Шине́ль, translit. Shinyél’; sometimes translated as "The Cloak") is a short story by Russian author Nikolai Gogol, published in 1842. The story has had a great influence on Russian literature. Eugène-Me ...
'' – his ardent perfectionism has earned him the nickname "The Golden Snail". The project has met numerous financial troubles and false starts, but Norstein has said that it currently has reliable funding from several sources, both from within and outside of Russia. At least 25 minutes have been completed to date. A couple of short, low-resolution clips have been made available to the public. The first 20 minutes of the film have also toured among various exhibits of Norstein's work in Russian museums. The full film is expected to be 65 minutes long.


Books

Norstein wrote an essay for a book by
Giannalberto Bendazzi Giannalberto Bendazzi (17 July 1946 – 13 December 2021) was an Italian animation historian, author, and professor. Life and career Born in Ravenna, Italy, and raised in Milan, Bendazzi started his career as a journalist and at the same time a ...
about the pinscreen animator Alexander Alexeïeff titled ''Alexeïeff: Itinerary of a Master''. In 2005, he released a Russian-language book titled ''Snow on the Grass. Fragments of a Book. Lectures about the Art of Animation'', featuring a number of lectures that he gave about the art of animation. That same year, he was invited as "guest animator" to work on
Kihachirō Kawamoto was a Japanese puppet designer and maker, Independent film, independent film director, screenwriter and animator and president (corporate title), president of the Japan Animation Association from 1989, succeeding founder Osamu Tezuka, until his ...
's puppet-animated feature film, ''
The Book of the Dead The ''Book of the Dead'' ( egy, 𓂋𓏤𓈒𓈒𓈒𓏌𓏤𓉐𓂋𓏏𓂻𓅓𓉔𓂋𓅱𓇳𓏤, ''rw n(y)w prt m hrw(w)'') is an ancient Egyptian funerary text generally written on papyrus and used from the beginning of the New Kingdom ...
''. On 10 August 2008, the full version of the book ''Snow on the Grass'' was released (the "incomplete" 2005 book was 248 pages). The book, which was printed in the Czech Republic and funded by
Sberbank PJSC Sberbank (russian: Сбербанк, initially a contraction of russian: сберегательный банк, translit=sberegatelnyy bank, lit=savings bank, link=no) is a Russian majority state-owned banking and financial services compa ...
, consists of two volumes, 620 pages, and 1700 color illustrations. The studio stopped working on ''The Overcoat'' for nearly a year while Norstein worked to release the book.


Political views

Norstein has been an outspoken critic of the Russian government. He voiced his opposition to the conviction of the band
Pussy Riot Pussy Riot is a Russian feminist protest and performance art group based in Moscow that became popular for its provocative punk rock music which later turned into a more accessible style. Founded in August 2011, it has had a membership of appr ...
and voiced his concerns over the death of
Sergei Magnitsky Sergei Leonidovich Magnitsky (russian: Сергeй Леонидович Магнитский, ; 8 April 1972 – 16 November 2009) was a Ukrainian-born Russian tax advisor responsible for exposing corruption and misconduct by Russian gover ...
in prison after he had exposed corruption within the government. He was among 370 people in the Russian animation industry signing an open letter against the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. A ...
that was published in ''
Novaya Gazeta ''Novaya Gazeta'' ( rus, Новая газета, t=New Gazette, p=ˈnovəjə ɡɐˈzʲetə) is an independent Russian newspaper known for its critical and investigative coverage of Russian political and social affairs. It is published in Mo ...
'' shortly after the invasion began.


Filmography

* ''The 25th, the First Day'' (, 1968), in collaboration with Arkadiy Tyurin. * ''
The Battle of Kerzhenets ''The Battle of Kerzhenets'' (russian: Се́ча при Ке́рженце; tr.: ''Secha pri Kerzhentse'') is a 1971 Soviet animated film directed by Ivan Ivanov-Vano and Yuri Norstein. The film is set to music by Rimsky-Korsakov and uses Russ ...
'' (, 1971), in collaboration with Ivan Ivanov-Vano. *
The Fox and the Hare
' (, 1973). * '' The Heron and the Crane'' (, 1974). * '' Hedgehog in the Fog'' (, 1975). * '' Tale of Tales'' (, 1979). * Participated in . * ''
The Overcoat "The Overcoat" (russian: Шине́ль, translit. Shinyél’; sometimes translated as "The Cloak") is a short story by Russian author Nikolai Gogol, published in 1842. The story has had a great influence on Russian literature. Eugène-Me ...
'' (, still in production).


Releases

2K resolution 2K resolution is a generic term for display devices or content having horizontal resolution of approximately 2,000 pixels. In the movie projection industry, Digital Cinema Initiatives is the dominant standard for 2K output and defines 2K resolu ...
transfers of the six theatrical shorts directed by Norstein by were made by the Japanese film laboratory Imagica. A touring programme of them was played in cinemas in Japan beginning in December 2016 and they were released on
Blu-ray Disc The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
there on 26 May 2017.


Awards and praise

* 1971 –
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival ( cs, Mezinárodní filmový festival Karlovy Vary) is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has becom ...
(
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
): ''The Battle of Kerzhenets'' named Best Animated Film * 1972 –
Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films World Festival of Animated Film Zagreb ( hr, Svjetski festival animiranog filma), also known as Animafest Zagreb, is a film festival entirely dedicated to animated film held annually in Zagreb, Croatia. Initiated by the International Animated Fi ...
(
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...
): Grand Prize for ''The Battle of Kerzhenets'' (shared with Ivan Ivanov-Vano) * 1972 –
Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...
: ''The Battle of Kerzhenets'' named Best Animated Film * 1972 –
Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
Film Festival (
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
): "Diplom" for ''The Battle of Kerzhenets'' * 1975 –
Annecy International Animated Film Festival The Annecy International Animation Film Festival (french: Festival international du film d'animation d'Annecy, officially abbreviated in English as the Annecy Festival, or simply Annecy) was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of J ...
(
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
): Special Jury Prize for ''Heron and Crane'' * 1975 –
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
(U.S.): First Prize for ''Heron and Crane'' * 1976 – Frunze
All-Union Film Festival The All-Union Film Festival (russian: Всесоюзный кинофестиваль; tr.:''Vsesoyuznyy kinofestival'', also known as ВКФ; ''VKF'') was one of the most important film festivals of the Soviet Union. It was founded in 1958 and he ...
: ''Hedgehog in the Fog'' "best animated film" * 1976 –
Teheran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
Children's and Youth Film Festival (
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
): ''Hedgehog in the Fog'' "best animated film" * 1977 –
Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...
(
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
): Grand Prize for ''Heron and Crane'' * 1979 –
USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...
for ''Tale of Tales'' (awarded just prior to its release to Norstein, Yarbusova, and Zhukovsky) * 1980 –
Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the No ...
International Festival of Films (
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
): Jury Grand Prize for ''Tale of Tales'' * 1980 –
Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films World Festival of Animated Film Zagreb ( hr, Svjetski festival animiranog filma), also known as Animafest Zagreb, is a film festival entirely dedicated to animated film held annually in Zagreb, Croatia. Initiated by the International Animated Fi ...
: Grand Prize for ''Tale of Tales'' * 1980 –
Ottawa International Animation Festival The Ottawa International Animation Festival is an annual animated film and media festival that takes place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The OIAF was founded in 1975, with the first festival held from August 10 to 15 in 1976. Initially organized by ...
(
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
): Best Film Longer Than Three Minutes Award for ''Tale of Tales'' * 1984 –
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
Olympic Arts Festival (U.S.): ''Tale of Tales'' voted by large international jury to be the greatest animated film of all time * 1991 –
Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally de ...
for Distinguished Contribution to the Art of Animation * 1995 –
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
n Independent Triumph Award (acknowledging 'the highest achievements in art and literature') * 1996 –
People's Artist of Russia People's Artist of the Russian Federation (russian: Народный артист Российской Федерации, ''Narodnyy artist Rossiyskoy Federatsii''), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the Russian Federation, is an h ...
* 1996 – 1st Open Russian Festival of Animated Film, Breakthrough Prize for ''Russian Sugar (commercial)'' * 2002 –
Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films World Festival of Animated Film Zagreb ( hr, Svjetski festival animiranog filma), also known as Animafest Zagreb, is a film festival entirely dedicated to animated film held annually in Zagreb, Croatia. Initiated by the International Animated Fi ...
: ''Tale of Tales'' again voted by large international jury to be the greatest animated film of all time * 2004 –
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
ese
Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight f ...
* 2014 – Animafest Zagreb - World Festival of Animated Film: Lifetime Achievement Award
Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widel ...
considers Norstein "a great artist" and cited ''Hedgehog in the Fog'' as one of his favourite animated films.A remote conversation between Yuri Norstein and Hayao Miyazaki
at a Russian TV Show ProSvet, on 22 October 2005, hosted by Dmitry Dibrov


Bibliography

* "Сказка сказок". Ю. Норштейн. Ф. Ярбусова. 2005, «Красная площадь». * "Снег на траве. Фрагменты книги. Лекции по искусству анимации". Ю. Норштейн. 2005. * "Ёжик в тумане". Юрий Норштейн, Сергей Козлов, Франческа Ярбусова (иллюстрации). 2006, «Красная площадь». * "Снег на траве". Ю. Норштейн. 2008, «Красная площадь».


See also

*
History of Russian animation The history of Russian animation is the visual art form produced by Russian animation makers. As most of Russia's production of animation for cinema and television were created during Soviet times, it may also be referred to some extent as the histo ...
*
Films that have been considered the greatest ever This is a list of films considered the best in national and international surveys of critics and the public. Some surveys focus on all films, while others focus on a particular genre or country. Voting systems differ, and some surveys suffer ...
* Francheska Yarbusova


References


Further reading

* *


External links

*
Yuri Norstein
at
animator.ru Animator.ru is a Russian website chronicling the films, people and studios of the animation industry in Russia, the former Soviet Union and (to a lesser extent) the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). It also includes a forum, a news block ...
(full filmography) *
Magia Russica, a Documentary Film about Russian Animation in Soviet Times, including In-depth interview with Yuri Norstein and a tour in his studio


( ttp://niffiwan.livejournal.com/4212.html#cutid1 English translation
The Animation of Yuri Norstein
at the Keyframe - the Animation Resource

''
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...
''
"Sweet little mystery"
''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
'', Saturday 16 April 2005
Yuri Norstein. The tale is a lie, what it tells is the truth

MoMA Hayama pays tribute to Russian animation legends
''
Metropolis (free magazine) ''Metropolis'' is a 32-to-48-page free monthly city guide, news and classified ads glossy magazine published by Japan Partnership Inc. targeting the English-speaking community in Tokyo, Japan. As of April 2011, its circulation was claimed to be ...
'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Norstein, Yuri 1941 births Living people High Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors faculty Annie Award winners Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres People's Artists of Russia Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 5th class Recipients of the USSR State Prize Jewish artists Jewish Russian actors Russian animated film directors Russian animators Russian artists Russian male voice actors Soviet animation directors Soviet animators Soviet film directors Soviet male voice actors Stop motion animators Russian activists against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine