Mark Semyonovich Donskoy (21 March 1981) was 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 ...

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

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 studio administrative head.

Biography

Mark Donskoy was born in

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

in a Jewish family. During the Civil War, he served in the Red Army (1921-1923), and was held captive by the White Russians for ten months. After he was freed, he was discharged from military service. He studied psychology and psychiatry at the Crimean Medical School. In 1925 he graduated from the legal department of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Crimean M.V. Frunze University in

Simferopol Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...

. He worked in investigative bodies, in the Supreme Court of the Ukrainian SSR, and in the bar association. He published a collection of short stories drawn from his life called ''Prisoners'' (1925). Donskoy began his career in film in 1926. He worked in the script department, but soon advanced as an assistant director 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 ...

. Later he worked in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

as an editing assistant. In 1935 he became the first Soviet dubbing director; he dubbed the American film ''The Invisible Man''. Following this, he directed numerous films. He also worked from time to time as a studio administrator: in 1938–1941, and in 1945-1955 he was the administrative director of Soyuzdetfilm's film studio in Moscow; in 1942-1945 and in 1955-1957 he was director of the

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

film studio; after 1957, he was director and art director of the Maxim Gorky film studio where he mentored Ousmane Sembène. His wife was the screenwriter (19181983).

Selected filmography

* '' The Childhood of Maxim Gorky'' (1938) * '' Gorky 2: My Apprenticeship'' (1939) * '' Gorky 3: My Universities'' (1940) * '' How the Steel Was Tempered'' (1942) * ' (1942) (aka ''Diary of a Nazi'') * ''

Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

'' (1944) * ' (1945) * '' Alitet Leaves for the Hills'' (1949) * ''

Mother A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...

'' (1955) * ' (1957) * '' Foma Gordeyev'' (1959) * '' A Mother's Heart'' (1965)

Honours and awards

* Stalin Prizes: **2nd class (1941) – for ''The Childhood of Maxim Gorky'' (1938) and ''People'' (1939) **1st class (1946) – for ''Rainbow'' (1943) **1st class (1948) – for ''Village Teacher'' (1947) * USSR State Prize (1968) – for ''Heart Mother'' (1966) * People's Artist of USSR (1966) *

Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour () was an Title of honor, honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It represented the highest degree of distinction in the USSR and was awarded for exceptional achievem ...

(1971) * Two Orders of Lenin *

Order of the October Revolution The Order of the October Revolution (, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on 31 October 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferred upon individuals or groups for services furthering communis ...

(18 March 1981) * Order of the Red Banner of Labour * Highest Award of the American Film Critics Association 1944 – for ''Rainbow'' * Award of ''Daily News'' – for best foreign film shown in the U.S. in 1944 (''Rainbow'') * Grand Prize at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

1946 – for ''The Unvanquished'' * Special prize of the Italian journalists Venice IFF 1948 – for ''My Universities'' * Award for Best Director Film Festival in Paris 1949 – for ''The Country Teacher'' * First Prize in

Stockholm International Film Festival The Stockholm International Film Festival () is an annual film festival held in Stockholm, Sweden. It was launched in 1990 and has been held every year since then during the second half of November, and focuses on emerging and early career fil ...

1949 – for ''My Universities'' * Prize R. Unningtona Edinburgh International Film Festival in 1955 – for ''The Childhood of Maxim Gorky'', ''The People'' and ''My Universities'' * Prize for best director at the

Locarno International Film Festival The Locarno International Film Festival is a major international film festival, held annually in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narr ...

1960 – for '' Foma Gordeyev'' * Special Diploma in

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (, KVIFF) is an annual film festival held in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern Eur ...

1970 – for ''Rainbow''

Notes

References

External links

* 1901 births 1981 deaths Film people from Odesa People from Odessky Uyezd Jewish Ukrainian musicians Soviet Jews Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Soviet film directors Soviet screenwriters Soviet male screenwriters Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the USSR State Prize Recipients of the Stalin Prize Heroes of Socialist Labour Recipients of the Order of Lenin {{Ukraine-bio-stub