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Lev Atamanov | |
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| Born | Levon Konstantinovich Atamanyan 21 February [O.S. 8 February] 1905 |
| Died | 12 February 1981 (aged 75) Moscow, Soviet Union |
| Occupation | Animation film director of Soyuzmultfilm |
Lev Konstantinovich Atamanov (Russian: Лев Константи́нович Атама́нов), born Levon Konstantinovich Atamanyan (Russian: Лево́н Константи́нович Атаманя́н, Armenian: Լևոն Ատամանյան; 21 February [O.S. 8 February] 1905 – 12 February 1981), was a Soviet Armenian animation director.
Atamanov was one of the foremost Soviet animation film directors and one of the founders of Soviet animation art. He is the director of famous classics of Soviet animation, such as the prize-winning fairy tales Scarlet Flower (1952), The Golden Antelope (1954), the full-length animation The Snow Queen (1957), and the modern satirical tale The Key (1961). In his works Lev Atamanov subtly conveyed the national coloring of fairy tales and combined romantic elation in images of positive characters with warm and kind humor.
Levon Konstantinovich Atamanyan was born in Moscow into an Armenian family hailing from Nakhichevan-on-Don. Atamanov studied acting and directing with Lev Kuleshov at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, graduating in 1926. Atamanov first worked as an assistant to the painter and animator Yuri Merkulov and later joined Mezhrabpomfilm Studio. Atamanov’s debut was the short public service announcement Across the Street (1931, with Vladimir Suteev), which explained traffic rules. He then made one of the first animated sound pictures, The Tale of the Little White Bull (1933), an allegorical anti-Western pamphlet directed against the League of Nations.
In 1936 Atamanov moved to Yerevan where at Armenfilm Studio he directed the first Armenian animated films, Dog and Cat (1938), from a fairy tale by Hovhannes Tumanyan, and The Priest and the Goat (1941). During the Great Patriotic War, Atamanov served in the Red Army. After his discharge, he completed one more animated film in Armenia, The Magic Carpet (1948). He then returned to Moscow and joined Soyuzmultfilm studio. Atamanov’s animated features; The Golden Antelope (1954) from Indian fairy tales and The Snow Queen (1957) from Hans Christian Andersen’s tale proved to be successful domestically and internationally. He later tried out a variety of styles and topics, among them political satire, for example, in That’s in Our Power (1970), from caricatures of Danish Communist cartoonist Herluf Bidstrup, who was popular in the Soviet Union. He also directed The Scarlet Flower as a plea against Soviet antisemitism.
He was buried at the Moscow Armenian Cemetery.
Atamanov was one of the most respected Soviet animators and is regarded as one of the greatest artists in the history of animation. He was named People’s Artist of the RSFSR in 1978.
Hayao Miyazaki has cited Atamanov's 1957 film The Snow Queen as a seminal influence on his work and his favorite film.
In 2023 a commemorative star dedicated to Atamanov was placed in the walk of fame alley located at Charles Aznavour Square in Yerevan, Armenia.
Ատամանյան Լևոն Կոնստանտինի ... հայ սովետական կինոռեժիսոր
В своей автобиографии Лев Атаманов отмечал: "Мои предки из Новой Нахичевани (на Дону)".
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