Alexander Tatarsky
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Olexander Mykhailovich Tatarskyy ( Ukrainian: Олександр Михайлович Татарський; ; December 11, 1950 – July 22, 2007) was a Ukrainian
animation director An animation director is the director in charge of all aspects of the animation process during the production of an animated or television film, or an animated segment for a live-action film or television show. Alternatively, the animation direct ...
, screenwriter, animator, producer, artist, co-founder and
artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...
of the
Pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
studio.
Merited Artist of the Russian Federation Merited Artist of the Russian Federation (, ''Zasluzhenny artist Rossiyskoy Federatsii''), also known as Honored Artist of Russia, is an honorary title in the Russian Federation. The title is awarded to actors, directors, filmmakers, writers, d ...
(2000). Laureate of the
State Prize of the Russian Federation The State Prize of the Russian Federation, officially translated in Russia as Russian Federation National Award, is a state honorary prize established in 1992 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. In 2004 the rules for selection of laureates ...
(1998).''Sergey Kapkov (2006)''. Encyclopedia of Domestic Animation, p. 632-633


Biography

Tatarsky was born in Kyiv into a family of Jewish origin. His father Mykhailo Semyonovich Tatarskyy worked in circus and wrote gags for such clowns as
Oleg Popov Oleg Konstantinovich Popov (, 31 July 1930 – 2 November 2016) was a Soviet and Russian clown and circus artist. He was awarded People's Artist of the USSR in 1969. Early life Popov was born on 31 July 1930, the son of a clock-repairman. At a ...
and
Yuri Nikulin Yuri Vladimirovich Nikulin (; 18 December 1921 – 21 August 1997) was a Soviet and Russian actor and clown who starred in many popular films. He is best known for his roles in Leonid Gaidai's comedies, such as ''The Diamond Arm'' and ''Kid ...
who was a close family friend."Sasha was a Jew, I'm not"
Igor Kovalyov Igor Adolfovich Kovalyov (born 17 January 1954) is a Russian animator, director and educator, co-founder of Pilot — the first private animation studio in the Soviet Union. From 1991 to 2005 he worked at Klasky Csupo where he co-created ''Aaahh! ...
's interview at
Echo of Moscow Echo of Moscow () was a 24/7 commercial Russian radio station based in Moscow. It broadcast in many Russian cities, some of the former Soviet republics (through partnerships with local radio stations), and via the Internet. From 1996 its editor- ...
, July 28, 2007 (in Russian) In 1974 Olexander graduated from the Kyiv Institute of Theatre and Cinema and in 1975 he finished 3-year animation courses at
Goskino Goskino USSR () is the abbreviated name for the USSR State Committee for Cinematography (Государственный комитет по кинематографии СССР) in the Soviet Union. It was a central state directory body for Sovi ...
. From 1968 to 1980 he worked at Kievnauchfilm under the director
David Cherkassky David Yanovich Cherkassky (; ; 23 August 1932 – 30 October 2018) was a Soviet Union, Soviet and Ukraine, Ukrainian animated film director and screenwriter. His work in the Kievnauchfilm studio include Adventures of Captain Wrongel, The Adventures ...
as an artist and animator. Among his works of that time was '' Adventures of Captain Wrongel''. During the studies he met
Igor Kovalyov Igor Adolfovich Kovalyov (born 17 January 1954) is a Russian animator, director and educator, co-founder of Pilot — the first private animation studio in the Soviet Union. From 1991 to 2005 he worked at Klasky Csupo where he co-created ''Aaahh! ...
who became his close friend and a co-author on many projects.animation stand An animation stand is a device assembled for the filming of any kind of animation that is placed on a flat surface, including cel animation, graphic animation, clay animation, and silhouette animation. Traditionally, the flat surface that the a ...
and created their first "underground" animated film ''Speaking of Birds'' in 1974. It wasn't released to public; instead they showed it to several prominent animation directors from
Soyuzmultfilm Soyuzmultfilm ( rus, Союзмультфи́льм, p=səˌjʉsmʊlʲtˈfʲilʲm , ''Unioncartoon'') (also known as SMF Animation Studio in English, formerly known as Soyuzdetmultfilm, ''Unionchildcartoon'') is a Russian animation studio, produ ...
who booked them two places at High Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors. Nevertheless, Kievnauchfilm refused to let Tatarsky go. In 1980 Kovalyov went to Moscow alone. Shortly after Tatarsky arrived on his own. He managed to get work at Multtelefilm division of
Studio Ekran Studio Ekran () was a Russian (Soviet Union's until 1991) TV film studio. It was founded in 1968 and produced made-for-TV movies, mini-series and animated cartoons. In 1994, after reorganization of Channel One Russia, Ostankino TV channel, it was c ...
with the help of Eduard Uspensky who wrote the screenplay for Tatarsky's first director's effort — '' Plasticine Crow'' (1981), which also happened to be Soviet first
claymation Claymation, sometimes called clay animation or plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine cl ...
film. After the enormous success Tatarsky was offered to create new opening and closing sequences for the popular children's TV show ''
Good Night, Little Ones! ''Good Night, Little Ones!'' () is a long-running Russian-language children's television program. Continuously broadcast since 1964 (premiered during the Soviet era), it airs on the Carousel channel. The program's presenters have included Vale ...
'' also made of plasticine, which was computerized in 2002 with brighter colors and new details commissioned by the
VGTRK The Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (RTR) or Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, also known as Russia Television and Radio, is a national state-owned broadcaster which operates many television and radio channel ...
(with a brand new version of the lullaby written by Zoya Petrova sung by Oleg Anofriyev); they were later included into the
Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...
by the number of broadcasts. It was followed by two other claymation shorts: ''New Year's Eve Song by Ded Moroz'' (1982) and '' Last Year's Snow Was Falling'' (1983). From 1984 on he worked in traditional animation only. In 1988 Tatarsky, Kovalyov, Anatoly Prokhorov and Igor Gelashvili founded the Moscow animation studio
Pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
, the first private, independent film studio in the Soviet Union aimed at adult-themed comedy movies. Tatarsky took the role of
artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...
which he kept till his death. Most films created at the studio received festival awards. Shortly after the team was offered to work at the
Klasky Csupo Klasky-Csupo, Inc. ( ) is an American animation studio located in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1982 by producer Arlene Klasky and her then-husband, Hungarian animator Gábor Csupó (hence the company's name) in a spare room of th ...
studio. And while Tatarsky refused to leave Pilot, Kovalyov and many other animators left for the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. In his interviews Tatarsky called it a great tragedy for the Russian animation industry which was already in poor state by that time. During the 1990s Pilot produced mostly advertising and music clips. In 1997 Tatarsky launched a side project — Pilot TV that specialized in
3D animated Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating moving images. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both still images and moving images, while computer animation refers to moving images. Modern ...
television shows. Its first program, Fruttis Attic, ran from 1997 to 1999 and featured Pilot Brothers, two "virtual hosts" based on the characters from '' Investigation Held by Kolobki'' (1987) who interviewed real-life celebrities. Tatarsky served as an artistic director and in 2000 launched another similar project — '' Turn off the Light!'', a political satire loosely based on ''
Good Night, Little Ones! ''Good Night, Little Ones!'' () is a long-running Russian-language children's television program. Continuously broadcast since 1964 (premiered during the Soviet era), it airs on the Carousel channel. The program's presenters have included Vale ...
''. It ran for three years and won two
TEFI TEFI () is an annual award given in the Russian television industry, presented by the Russian Academy of Television. It has been awarded since 1994. TEFI is presented in various sectors (up to 50 nominations in 2008), such as television shows ...
awards as the best entertainment program in 2001 and 2002. The ''Red Arrow'' spinoff ran for a year and also won a TEFI in 2004. In 1997 he was also given
Nika Award The Nika Award (sometimes styled NIKA Award) is the main annual national film award in Russia, presented by the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Science, and seen as the national equivalent of the Oscars. In 2022 nominees were announced, b ...
for his animated short ''Pilot Brothers Make Macaronies for Breakfast'' which was part of the ''Pilot Brothers'' mini-series. Tatarsky was also the founder of '' Mountain of Gems'', Pilot's biggest project made with the support of the
State Committee for Cinematography Goskino USSR () is the abbreviated name for the USSR State Committee for Cinematography (Государственный комитет по кинематографии СССР) in the Soviet Union. It was a central state directory body for Sovi ...
. From 2004 till this day over seventy 13-minute animated shorts were produced based on fairy tales of Russian people and other ethnic groups that populate the Russian Federation and former Soviet states. Every short features its own art direction and animation technique, from
stop motion Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exh ...
and traditional animation to computer and
cutout animation Cutout animation is a form of stop-motion animation using flat characters, props and backgrounds cut from materials such as paper, card, stiff fabric or photographs. The props would be cut out and used as puppets for stop motion. The world's ...
. They are united by claymation openings that tell the history of every specific region. Among the animation directors who took part in the project were
Eduard Nazarov Eduard Vasilievich Nazarov (; 23 November 1941 – 11 September 2016) was a Soviet and Russian animator, screenwriter, voice actor, book illustrator and educator, artistic director at the Pilot (studio), Pilot Studio (2007–2016), vice-president ...
,
Konstantin Bronzit Konstantin Eduardovich Bronzit (; born 12 April 1965) is a Russian animator and animation film director nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. He currently works at one of the largest Russian animation studio — Mel ...
and Tatarsky himself. Tatarsky died of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
aged 56. He was buried at the Miusskoe cemetery in Moscow.


Filmography

* 1974 — ''Speaking of Birds'' (co-director with
Igor Kovalyov Igor Adolfovich Kovalyov (born 17 January 1954) is a Russian animator, director and educator, co-founder of Pilot — the first private animation studio in the Soviet Union. From 1991 to 2005 he worked at Klasky Csupo where he co-created ''Aaahh! ...
, screenwriter, artist, animator), unreleased * 1979 — '' Adventures of Captain Wrongel'' (animator) * 1981 — '' Plasticine Crow'' (director, screenwriter, artist) * 1981/2002 — ''
Good Night, Little Ones! ''Good Night, Little Ones!'' () is a long-running Russian-language children's television program. Continuously broadcast since 1964 (premiered during the Soviet era), it airs on the Carousel channel. The program's presenters have included Vale ...
'' (director of opening and closing sequences; computerized in 2002 with new features) * 1982 — ''New Year's Eve Song by Ded Moroz'' (director) * 1982 — ''Take Care of Bread!'' (director) * 1982 — ''Back from the Stars'' (director) * 1982 — ''Incident in a Museum'' (director) * 1982 — ''Tele-eye'' (director of the opening sequence) * 1983 — '' Last Year's Snow Was Falling'' (director, animator) * 1984 — ''The Tale of the Tiny Headed Chicken'' (director, animator) * 1984 — ''Back Side of the Moon'' (director, animator) * 1984 — ''Alarm Clock'' (director of the opening sequence) * 1985 — ''Signs'' (director) * 1985 — ''Rubik's Cube'' — ''Clownery'' episode (director, screenwriter, animator) * 1986 — '' Wings, Legs and Tails'' (co-director with Igor Kovalyov, screenwriter, artist, animator) * 1986 — ''Useful Advises of Professor Chainikov'' — episodes 5 and 6 (director) * 1986 — ''Back and Forth'' (director) * 1986—1987 — '' Investigation Held by Kolobki'' (co-director with Igor Kovalyov, artist)


At Pilot Studio

* 1989—1992 — ''Lift'' (creator, director, screenwriter, producer) * 1989—2007 — ''The Arrival of a Train'' (director, screenwriter), unfinished * 1990 — ''Wonders'' (screenwriter, producer) * 1990 — ''Hen His Wife'' (artistic director) * 1990 — ''Aviators'' (producer) * 1990 — ''Pums'' (artistic director) * 1991 — ''Putsch'' (director, screenwriter, animator) * 1991 — '' Andrei Svislotskiy'' (artistic director) * 1991 — ''Midnight Games'' (producer) * 1991 — ''Auto Racing'' (screenwriter) * 1991 — ''Hunter'' (artistic director) * 1992 — ''Hypnerotomachia'' (producer) * 1992 — ''I Hear You'' (producer) * 1992 — ''Introduction'' (producer) * 1993 — ''Tuk-Tuk'' (producer) * 1993 — ''Soother'' (producer) * 1993 — ''Origin of Species'' (producer) * 1993 — ''Golden Gate'' (producer) * 1993 — ''Fare - Well!'' (producer) * 1993 — ''Other Side'' (producer) * 1993 — ''Chew!'' (producer) * 1994 — ''Gagarin'' (producer) * 1995—1996 — ''Pilot Brothers'' (director of episode 2, screenwriter, producer) * 1995 — ''Exhibitionist'' (artistic director) * 1998 — ''Optimus Mundus'' — ''Underground'' episode (screenwriter) * 1998 — ''Knopik and Co'' — (producer) * 1999 — ''Gone with the Wind'' (director, art director, design, producer) * 2002 — ''Red Gates Rashomon'' (co-director with Valentin Telegin, screenwriter) * 2004—2007 — ''Mountain of Gems'' (creator, artistic director, screenwriter, co-director of episodes 2 and 8 with Valentin Telegin) Films by Pilot Studio
at the official site (in Russian)


References


External links

*
Profile
at animator.ru
A famous 1986 essay by Tatarsky, translated into English

Biography of Alexander Tatarsky

In the memory of A. Tatarsky
at the
Pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
studio website (in Russian)
Mountain of Gems series
at the official
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
channel (in Russian, English, Spanish and Chinese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Tatarskiy, Aleksander 1950 births 2007 deaths 20th-century Russian screenwriters Russian male screenwriters 20th-century Russian male writers Mass media people from Kyiv Honored Artists of the Russian Federation Jewish Russian artists Recipients of the Nika Award Russian animated film directors Russian animators Russian film directors Russian people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Soviet animation directors Soviet animators Soviet Jews Soviet screenwriters Soviet male screenwriters State Prize of the Russian Federation laureates