Alexander Naumovich Mitta (; born 28 March 1933 in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

) is a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n film director,

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

and

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. Mitta's birth name was Alexander Naumovich Rabinovich (). He studied engineering (graduated in 1955), then worked as a cartoonist in art and humour magazines. In 1960 Mitta graduated at the film directing faculty of the

VGIK The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, officially the S. A. Gerasimov All-Russian University of Cinematography (, meaning ''All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov''), a.k.a. VGIK, is a film school in Moscow, ...

. Mitta's career as film director and screenwriter spans from the 1960s until the 2010s. Among the movies are ''

Shine, Shine, My Star "Shine, Shine, My Star" () is an acclaimed Russian romance. The authorship of the song was uncertain for some time, being ascribed to various people, including Nikolay Gumilyov and Ivan Bunin. A popular belief attributed it to Russian Admiral Alek ...

'' (1970) about actors trying to survive and work during the time of the Russian revolution or the high budget catastrophe movie ''Air Crew'' (1979). For his work Mitta obtained numerous awards in the Soviet Union and Russia. In 1980, Mitta was a member of the jury at the

30th Berlin International Film Festival The 30th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 18–29 February 1980. The Golden Bear was jointly awarded to '' Heartland'', directed by Richard Pearce, and '' Palermo or Wolfsburg'', directed by Werner Schroeter. The retros ...

. Mitta supported the

n annexation of

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

in 2014, even though he also noted that he didn't like that it serves as a distraction for many from other problems

is facing.

Filmography

Director

*1961: '' My Friend, Kolka!'' *1962: '' No Fear, No Blame'' *1965: ''

They're Calling, Open the Door They're Calling, Open the Door () is a Soviet feature film of 1965 directed by Alexander Mitta, the debut of the twelve-year-old Elena Proklova in the cinema. A fifth-grade student, Tanya ( Elena Proklova), is in love with the pioneer leader Pet ...

'' *1969: ''

'' *1972: '' Dot, Dot, Comma...'' *1974: '' Moscow, My Love'' *1976: ''

How Czar Peter the Great Married Off His Moor ''How Czar Peter the Great Married Off His Moor'' (, ''Skaz pro to, kak tsar Pyotr arapa zhenil'') is a 1976 musical film directed by the Russian filmmaker Alexander Mitta. The film features Vladimir Vysotsky as the protagonist Abram Petrovich Ga ...

'' *1979: ''

Air Crew ''Air Crew'' () is a 1980 disaster film directed by Alexander Mitta. Inspired by the ''Airport'' movie series, it was the first disaster film shot in the Soviet Union. Plot The first part of the film concentrates on the personal lives of the air ...

'' *1982: ''

The Story of Voyages The Story of Voyages, also translated as A Fairy Tale of Wanderings (Russian: Сказка странствий) is a 1983 Soviet Russian fantasy adventure film directed by Alexander Mitta and starring Andrei Mironov. The film is notably darker ...

'' *1988: '' A Step'' *1991: ''

Lost in Siberia ''Lost in Siberia'' is a 1991 Soviet-British film by Alexander Mitta. It was shot entirely in Russia, either on location or at Mosfilm Studio. The post-production was started at Mosfilm Studio and completed in London. The film was selected as the ...

'' *2000: '' The Border. Taiga Romance'' *2002: ''

Red-hot Saturday Red hot may refer to: Food * Frank's RedHot, a hot sauce produced by Reckitt Benckiser * Michigan hot dog, covered in a meat sauce * Red Hots, a small cinnamon-flavored candy Film and television * ''Red Hot'' (film), a 1993 Canadian drama film ...

'' *2004: ''

Swan Paradise Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe (biology) ...

'' *2013: ''

Chagall — Malevich ''Chagall — Malevich'' () is a 2014 Russian biographical drama film directed by Alexander Mitta about the Vitebsk period in the life of the artist Marc Chagall and his relationship with fellow artist Kazimir Malevich. The film was released on A ...

Actor

*1967: ''

July Rain ''July Rain'' () is a 1967 Soviet drama film directed by Marlen Khutsiev. ''July Rain'' is story about the rather boring life of 28-year old Lena, her mother, her longterm boyfriend Volodya and their intellectual friends - and Zhenya, the stranger ...

'' - Vladik *1998: ' - Kapitän II *2010: '' Дом Cолнца'' - Posetitel vystavki Koreytsa (final film role)

Film school

In the 2000s Mitta began a film school.

References

External links

* * * Biographies in Russian

1933 births People's Artists of Russia Russian caricaturists Russian film directors Soviet film directors Soviet screenwriters Soviet male screenwriters Male screenwriters Living people Russian male artists Honorary members of the Russian Academy of Arts Academicians of the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Sciences "Nika" Academic staff of High Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors 20th-century Russian Jews Moscow State University of Civil Engineering alumni Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography alumni {{Russia-actor-stub