Irina V. Yevteyeva

Born on March 14, 1956 in Leningrad.

Graduated from N. Krupskaya Institute of Culture, department of photography, studio of G. Aronov and G. Zimmerman (1980). Completed a post-graduate course in LGITMIK (now St. Petersburg Academy of Performing Arts) (1990). Defended a PhD thesis on the theme «Genre-formation process in the national animation of the 60’s – 80’s: From the parable to polyphonic structures» (1991). PhD in Arts.

Film director at the Lenfilm Studios (since 1989).

Professor of the University of Culture and Arts (now the Academy of Culture and Arts) teaching cinema dramatic arts (since 1991); a senior research worker of the Russian Institute of Arts History.

I. Yevteyeva’s films defy standard classification. She creates hand-made screen pictures in the literal sense of the word. Being a director and critic, practitioner and theorist, designer and researcher, Irina Yevteyeva has developed her own unique techniques of «film-painting» on the interface of cinema and animation. I. Yevteyeva calls herself an animator and cartoon-maker, but she also works with actors and live performers; she needs this, as she herself puts it, «to always have the feeling of cinema».

When working on her first film, «A horse, a violin… and a little jumpily» (1991), there was not a spare animation machine for her, so she had to invent an alternative technique. It was labour-consuming: each shot was made by hand, using light, glass, a projector and a camera. However, I. Yevteyeva implemented her concept brilliantly, integrating documentary and animation material. An improvisation on the theme of V. Mayakovsky’s poetry turned into a film with the poet himself «starring»: his image would be taken out of the original material and transferred to a new setting, where it would start a new life defying the laws of time and space.

In 1991-1992, ‘A horse, a violin…« was awarded several first prizes at various film festivals, and then Irina Yevteyeva for a few years got absorbed in working on her second film, ‘Elixir: Fantasia in Hoffmann’s Style». Knitting together feature film and animation, in this work she tells a whole story of Hoffmann’s character travelling «through the Looking-Glass». Released in 1995, ‘Elixir’ collected still more prizes, giving birth to a myth of a St. Petersburg director Yevteyeva, who could paint with light on glass, acknowledged only «hand-made» and ignored the computer.

In late 1990’s I. Yevteyeva, together with her husband Yuri Kravtsov (one of her permanent co-authors) and Andrey Chernykh, wrote a screenplay named «Petersburg» – three novellas joined into a triptych about St. Petersburg of the 18th-20th centuries. This poetic essay was based on the poems by Alexander Pushkin and Alexander Blok and the novel by Andrey Belyi. The work took 5 years. Starring in the film were actress Svetlana Svirko and actors Alexander Cherednik and Semyon Strugachev; old cinema classics were replayed: «The Overcoat», «The Strike», «Peter I». Irina Yevteyeva and cameraman Genrikh Marandzhian created a kind of illusory space where the main character was wandering.

At the same time the director was working on «The Clown» - a film based on the ‘Snow Show’ by Vyacheslav Polunin. Unlike the time-consuming «Petersburg», «The Clown» was made in just six months together with cameraman Genrikh Marandzhian and composer Andrey Sigle. Yet it was this 10-minute miniature that had brought Irina Yevteyeva world recognition: in 2002 in Venice «The Clown» received a «Silver Lion».

«Petersburg» was finished in 2003. It was among the main claimants to the «Golden George» at the 2003 Moscow International Film Festival; it got the Special Prize of the festival «Literature and Cinema», and other awards. The latest film project realized by Irina Yevteyeva is «The Demon» after the painting by M. Vrubel, the poem of the same title by M. Lermontov, and Goethe’s «Faust». Her current work – film «Theseus» – is in production.

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Irina Yevteyeva: «I am well aware that the films I make are not for general release, and the majority will never see them. The most important thing is that the films do find their viewers anyway.»

ABOUT FILMS

• 2004 The Demon (animation) (script writer, film director, art designer)
• 2003 Petersburg (animation) (co-script writer with Yu. Kravtsov and A. Chernykh, film director, art designer)
• 2002 The clown (animation) (script writer, film director, art designer)
• 1998 The body will be committed to the earth, and the chief midshipman will be singing (animation) (director of animation)
• 1995 Elixir. Fantasia in Hoffmann’s Style (tv/f) (co-script writer with Yu. Kravtsov, film director)
• 1991 A horse, a violin… and a little jumpily (animation) (co-script writer with Yu. Kravtsov, film director, art designer)
• 1984 Pied Piper (animation) (film director, art designer, operator)
• 1980 The Black Hole (animation) (film director, art designer)

PRIZES

The clown

2002

«St. Markus’ Silver Lion» award for «Best short film» at the IFF in Venice

Petersburg

2004
Special Prize presented by the jury of the 10th Russian Film Festival «Literature and Cinema» (Gatchina)
2003
25th Moscow IFF: Viewers’ Prize presented upon Rambler web site vote
Nominee for the «Golden George» prize at the 25th Moscow IFF

Elixir. Fantasia in Hoffmann’s Style

1996
Grand Prix at the 2nd Film Festival «Literature and Cinema» (Gatchina)
1995
«Silver Nail» prize; Main Prize in the contest of debuts; a prize presented by the Federation of cinema clubs of Russia at the Cinema Forum «Suzdal-95»
Special Prize at the IFF «Window to Europe» (Vyborg)
Prize at the IFF of short documentary films «Drama-95» (Greece)
1994
Yevgeny Yenei Professional award to the art designer presented by Lenfilm Studios and St. Petersburg Union of Cinema Workers

A horse, a violin… and a little jumpily

1991
Professional award presented by Lenfilm Studios
Grand Prix in the contest for non-feature films at the IFF «On the Borderline of Europe and Asia» in Zarechnoye
1992
Prize for the best animation film at the Film Festival «Debut» (Moscow)
Prize at the International Cinema Forum «Arsenal» (Riga)
Prize for the best debut at the IFF of women’s cinema (Minsk)