This year’s RETROSPECTIVE IS TIMED TO THE 90th ANNIVERSARY OF ANIMATION DIRECTOR INESSA KOVALEVSKAYA.
DIRECTOR INESSA KOVALEVSKAYA.
Animation director and screenwriter, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, Inessa Kovalevskaya is best known for the first Soviet cartoon musical The Bremen Town Musicians. Her other cartoons once adored by so many Soviet children include The Boat, In the port, Chuchelo-Myaouchelo, The Tale of a Priest and His Servant Balda, among others. Inessa Kovalevskaya made a total of about 30 cartoons.
Inessa Kovalevskaya celebrated her 90th birthday on March 1, 2023. The famous cartoonist has devoted her life to the children of her country and created a multitude of iconic cartoons.
Released in 1969, Kovalevskaya’s hit The Bremen Town Musicians turned out a small but very important revolution in the Soviet animation art: from then on a cartoon was no longer just a fascinating story, it was also songs. The tunes and lyrics from The Bremen Town Musician, The Lion Cub and the Turtle, and Chuchelo-Myaouchelo are passed on from generation to generation, and there’s hardly a collection of children’s song favourites without the all-time hit Chunga-Changa. All these songs form part of our cultural code.
“Inessa Kovalevskaya is known for her pathbreaking approach. Her cartoons vary in style, some being amazingly simple, others complex or touchingly naive, but her every work shows talent and high professionalism. As long as we have cartoons like Kovalevskaya’s, our kids are safe. Bringing “laughter and joy to everyone”, they delight the mind and nourish the heart. Her cartoons are filled with love for children and life in all its manifestations, helping kids to understand life, music and the world around them.”
Yuri Norstein
Seeking collaboration with Inessa Kovalevskaya were poet Yuri Entin, composer Gennady Gladkov, actors Vasily Livanov and Rostislav Plyatt and many other renowned artists.
The 7th ARCTIC OPEN IFF will continue to delight its audience – this time with cartoons by one of the most musical animation director ever!
