Davis Center Film Screening: Masters of Soviet Animation: Hedgehog in the Fog and Other Classics

Date: 

Thursday, August 10, 2017, 7:00pm

Location: 

CGIS South, S-010 (Tsai Auditorium), 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA

Hedgehog in the Fog and Other ClassicsAll films in Russian with English subtitles

The Cameraman's Revenge (1911, 13 min.) is one of Ladislas Starevich’s earliest surviving films and it is also his most famous. In this early example of stop-motion animation, beetles star in this story of love and infidelity among insects.

The Millionaire (1963, 10 min.) tells the story of a bulldog who inherits millions of dollars from his rich owner when she dies. This anti-capitalist film was directed by Vitold Bordzilovski.

The Bremen Town Musicians (1969, 20 min.) is based on the characters of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, Town Musicians of Bremen. The film, directed by Inessa Kovalevskaya, became a cult hit in the Soviet Union because of its memorable musical soundtrack, which contains influences from Western rock 'n' roll music.

Hedgehog in the Fog (1975, 10 min.) by Yuri Norstein was ranked #1 by the Laputa Animation Festival where 140 animators from around the world voted for the best animated films of all time. A little hedgehog, on the way to visit his friend the bear, gets lost in thick fog, where horses, dogs and even falling leaves take on a terrifying new aspect. 

Tale of Tales (1979, 30 min.) is a reflection on Russian history and memory. Yuri Norstein creates a visual emotional response to a changing Russia, followed in the eyes of the Little Grey Wolf spying on various people's lives, and giving an insight to Russian culture in the 20th Century. Tale of Tales often competes with Hedgehog in the Fog for the title of best animated film of all time.

Commentary on the films will be provided by Julia Alekseyeva, Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Comparative Literature, Harvard University.

Free admission

Sponsored by the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies.

For more information, please call 617-495-4037.