Lev Isaakovich Milchin (, 1920—1987) was a Soviet

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 ...

, art director, artist and book illustrator. He was also a pedagogue at

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, ...

. He was named an

Honoured Artist of the RSFSR 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 ...

in 1978.

Biography

Lev Milchin was born into the family of the Soviet artist of

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish origin Isaak Iosifovich Milchin. He graduated from the Minsk art school, then finished a newly opened art faculty at VGIK led by

Ivan Ivanov-Vano Ivan Petrovich Ivanov-Vano (; – 25 March 1987), born Ivanov, was a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian animation director, animator, screenwriter, educator, professor at Gerasimov Institute of Cine ...

. During the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...

, Milchin joined

Narodnoe Opolcheniye The People's Militia (, ) was the irregular troops formed from the population in the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union. They fought behind front lines and alongside the regular army during several wars throughout its history. The People ...

, then worked at

CIFS Server Message Block (SMB) is a communication protocol used to share files, printers, serial ports, and miscellaneous communications between nodes on a network. On Microsoft Windows, the SMB implementation consists of two vaguely named Windows ...

(

Almaty Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...

) in evacuation as an artist on several movies. After the war he joined

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 ...

where he contributed to

stop-motion Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animation, animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appe ...

and

traditionally animated Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation of the 20th century, until there was a shi ...

movies both as an art director and a director. Among his collaborators were Ivan Ivanov-Vano,

Alexandra Snezhko-Blotskaya Alexandra Gavrilovna Snezhko-Blotskaya (Russian: Александра Гавриловна Снежко-Блоцкая, 21 February 1909 in Volchansk, Russian Empire – 29 December 1980 in Moscow Oblast, Soviet Union) was a Soviet animated fi ...

, Mikhail Tsekhanovsky, the Brumberg sisters and others. Milchin also worked at

Mosfilm Mosfilm (, ''Mosfil’m'' , initialism and portmanteau of Moscow Films) is a film studio in Moscow which is among the largest and oldest in the Russian Federation and in Europe. Founded in 1924 in the USSR as a production unit of that nation's fi ...

as an art director. His filmography includes ''

Sampo In Finnish mythology, the ''Sampo'' () is a magical device or object described in many different ways, constructed by the blacksmith and inventor Ilmarinen and which brings riches and good fortune to its holder, akin to the horn of plenty (corn ...

'' (1959) by

Aleksandr Ptushko Aleksandr Lukich Ptushko (, – 6 March 1973) was a Soviet animation and fantasy film director, and a People's Artist of the USSR (1969). Ptushko is frequently (and somewhat misleadingly) referred to as "the Soviet Walt Disney," because of his p ...

, ''

Michman Panin ''Michman Panin'' () is a 1960 Soviet war film directed by Mikhail Schweitzer. Plot The storyline of the movie is based on the memoirs of an old Bolshevik named Vasily Lukich Panyushkin. It is May 1912. Thirteen political prisoners are being tried ...

'' (1960) by Mikhail Shveitser, ''My Younger Brother'' (1962) by

Aleksandr Zarkhi Aleksandr Grigoryevich Zarkhi (; 18 February 1908 – 27 January 1997) was a Soviet and Russian film director and screenwriter. People's Artist of the USSR (1969). Hero of Socialist Labour (1978). His film ''Twenty Six Days from the Life of ...

, ''

Maria, Mirabela ''Maria, Mirabela'' is a live-action/animated film jointly produced by Moldovan and Soviet movie studios. The Romanian premiere took place on 21 December 1981 in Bucharest, The Soviet premiere took place on March 3, 1982 in Moscow. ''Maria, Mir ...

'' (1981) by

Ion Popescu-Gopo Ion Popescu-Gopo (; 1 May 1923 – 29 November 1989) was a Romanian graphic artist and animator, but also writer, film director, and actor. He was born in Bucharest, Romania. He was a prominent personality in the Romanian cinematography and the ...

and other titles. He also taught art at VGIK, illustrated books and served as a member of

ASIFA The International Animated Film Association (French: ''Association Internationale du Film d'Animation'', ASIFA) is an international non-profit organization founded in 1960 in Annecy, France by well-known animation artists including Canadian an ...

. Milchin died on 28 June 1987, a few months after his friend and teacher Ivan Ivanov-Vano. He was buried in Moscow at the Mitinskoe Cemetery (site 126).Milchin's tomb
/ref> He was survived by his wife Tamara Vladimirovna Poletika (1922—2011), an animator.

Filmography

Art director: * '' The Humpbacked Horse'' (1947) * ''The Little Flower with Seven Colours'' (1948) * '' Geese-Swans'' (1949) * ''A Strange Voice'' (1949) * '' The Tale of the Dead Tsarevna and the Seven Bogatyrs'' (1951) * '' Tsarevna the Frog'' (1954) * ''

The Enchanted Boy ''The Enchanted Boy'' (, ''Zakoldovanyy malchik'') is a 1955 Soviet/Russia traditionally animated feature film directed by Vladimir Polkovnikov and Aleksandra Snezhko-Blotskaya. The film is an adaptation of ''The Wonderful Adventures of Nils'' by ...

'' (1955) * ''The Helping-out Stick'' (1956) * ''Fulfillment of Desires'' (1957) * ''My Younger Brother'' (1962) * ''The Glowworm №3'' (1963) * ''The Pig-Money-Box'' (1963) * ''Zhu-Zhu-Zhu'' (1966) * ''An Alarm Clock'' (1967) * '' Adventures of the Baron Munchausen'' (1967) * ''The Comedian'' (1968) * '' Brave Robin Hood'' (1970) * ''Stories of the Old Sailor. Antarctica'' (1972) * ''Health Begins at Home'' (1973) * '' The Humpbacked Horse'' (1975) * ''

The Steadfast Tin Soldier "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" () is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a tin soldier's love for a paper ballerina. The tale was first published in Copenhagen by C.A. Reitzel on 2 October 1838 in the first booklet of ''Fair ...

'' (1976) * ''How Masha Quarreled with a Pillow'' (1977) * ''Masha isn't a Lazy Girl Anymore'' (1978) * ''Metamorphosis'' (1978) * ''New Aladdin'' (1979) * ''

'' (1981) * ''

The Tale of Tsar Saltan The Tale of Tsar Saltan, of His Son the Renowned and Mighty Bogatyr Prince Gvidon Saltanovich and of the Beautiful Swan-Princess ( ) is an 1831 fairy tale in verse by Alexander Pushkin. As a folk tale it is classified as Aarne–Thompson type ...

'' (1984) * ''The Cock and Boyarin'' (1986) Director: * ''The Glowworm №3'' (1963) * ''The Pig-Money-Box'' (1963) * ''Allowed and Not Allowed'' (1964) * ''Hello, Atom!'' (1965) * ''Zhu-Zhu-Zhu'' (1966) * ''Today is Birthday'' (1966) * ''An Alarm Clock'' (1967) * ''The Glowworm №8'' (1968) * ''Grandmother's Umbrella'' (1969) * ''Stories of the Old Sailor. Extraordinary Travel'' (1970) * ''Stories of the Old Sailor. Desert Island'' (1971) * ''Stories of the Old Sailor. Antarctica'' (1972) * ''

'' (1976) * ''How Masha Quarreled with a Pillow'' (1977) * ''Masha isn't a Lazy Girl Anymore'' (1978) * ''Masha and the Magic Jam'' (1979) * ''

'' (1984) * ''The Cucumber Horse'' (1985) * ''The Cock and Boyarin'' (1986)

References

External links

Lev Milchin
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, ...

(complete filmography) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Milchin, Lev Soviet film directors Soviet animators 1920 births 1987 deaths Jewish Russian artists Soviet animation directors People from Minsk