Fyodor Khitruk

Biography

Fyodor Savelyevich Khitruk (Russian: Фёдор Савельевич Хитрук; 1 May 1917 – 3 December 2012; Tver) was a Russian (and Soviet) animator and animation director. Khitruk was born in Tver (Russian Empire), into a Jewish family. He came to Moscow to study graphic design at the OGIS College for Applied Arts. He graduated in 1936 and started to work with "Soyuzmultfilm" in 1938 as an animator. From 1962 onwards, he worked as a director. His first film "Story of One Crime" was an immense success. Today, this film is seen as the beginning of a renaissance of Soviet animation after a two-decade-long life in the shadows of Socialist realism. Diverging from the “naturalistic” Disney-like canons that were reigning in the 1950-60s in Soviet animated cartoons, he created his own style, which was laconic yet multi-level, non-trivial and vivid. He is the director of outstanding animated short films including such classics as his social satire of bureaucrats, "Man in the Frame" (1966); the philosophic parable, "Island" (1973) about the loneliness of a man in modern society; the biographical film "A Young Man Named Engels – A Portrait in Letters" (1970), based on drawings and letters of young Engels; the parody "Film, Film, Film" (1968); and the anti-war film, "Lion and Bull" (1984). In April 1993, Khitruk and three other leading animators (Yuri Norstein, Andrei Khrzhanovsky, and Eduard Nazarov) founded SHAR Studio, an animation school and studio in Russia. The Russian Cinema Committee is among the share-holders in the studio. In 2008, he released a two-volume book titled "Profession of Animation". He is the grandfather of violin virtuoso Anastasia Khitruk. Khitruk lived in Moscow, where he died in 2012, aged 95.

Known for

Animated Soviet Propaganda

June 15, 1997

The Spirit of Genius - Fedor Khitruk and His Films

January 1, 1997

Searching for the Lost Pochta

December 9, 2014

Magia Russica

October 5, 2004

Miracle Factory. Animation Director

Winnie-the-Pooh Goes Visiting

July 10, 1971

Winnie-the-Pooh Goes Visiting

July 10, 1971

Winnie-the-Pooh and a Busy Day

July 13, 1972

Acting roles

Year	Movie / TV show / Other	Role
2014	Searching for the Lost Pochta	Archive footage
2005	Miracle Factory. Animation Director
2004	Magia Russica
1997	Animated Soviet Propaganda	Self - Contributor
1997	The Spirit of Genius - Fedor Khitruk and His Films	Self

Credits

Year	Movie / TV show / Other	Role
2011	Riding on a Broomstick	Screenplay
2005	About Me	Animation Director
2002	About the Girl Who Found Her Bear	Animation Director
2002	Neighbours	Animation Director
2000	Masters of Russian Animation - Volume 3	Director
2000	Masters of Russian Animation - Volume 1	Screenplay
2000	Masters of Russian Animation - Volume 1	Director
2000	Masters of Russian Animation - Volume 2	Director
2000	Masters of Russian Animation - Volume 2	Screenplay
1998	Mikhail Baryshnikov's Stories from My Childhood	Animation
1997	Dunno on the Moon	Consulting Producer
1995	Attraction	Art Direction
1989	The Cow	Art Direction
1986	Three Novels	Writer
1986	Lafertovskaya Makovnitsa	Creative Director
1985	Wolfy	Art Direction
1985	Kuth and Mice	Art Direction
1984	Lion and Bull	Writer
1984	Lion and Bull	Director
1984	The Cat in the Cap	Art Direction
1982	Olympians	Screenplay
1982	Olympians	Director
1980	O Sport, You Are Peace!	Animation Director
1977	One Day Before Our Era	Director
1977	One Day Before Our Era	Screenplay
1977	One Day Before Our Era	Writer
1976	Ikar and Sages	Screenplay
1976	Ikar and Sages	Director
1975	Escape of Mr. McKinley	Animation Director
1975	Little Hippo	Art Direction
1974	I Give you a Star	Director
1974	I Give you a Star	Writer
1973	Island	Screenplay
1973	Island	Animation
1973	Island	Director
1973	Balance of Fear	Director
1973	Balance of Fear	Art Direction
1973	Balance of Fear	Writer
1972	Winnie-the-Pooh and a Busy Day	Director
1972	Winnie-the-Pooh and a Busy Day	Writer
1972	The Love of Mankind	Animation Director
1972	The Love of Mankind	Animation
1971	Winnie-the-Pooh Goes Visiting	Director
1971	Winnie-the-Pooh Goes Visiting	Screenplay
1970	A Young Man Named Engels – A Portrait in Letters	Director
1970	A Young Man Named Engels – A Portrait in Letters	Writer
1969	Winnie-the-Pooh	Director
1969	Winnie-the-Pooh	Writer
1969	Winnie-the-Pooh	Creator
1968	Film, Film, Film	Director
1968	Film, Film, Film	Writer
1968	Zigzag of Success	Animation Director
1967	Othello-67	Director
1967	Othello-67	Screenplay
1966	Man in the Frame	Director
1966	Man in the Frame	Writer
1965	Boniface's Holiday	Director
1965	Boniface's Holiday	Writer
1965	The Tale of the Tsarevich and the Three Healers	Screenplay
1964	Little Stomper	Director
1964	Little Stomper	Writer
1963	Story of One Crime	Director
1963	Granny's Goat	Animation
1961	The Key	Animation
1961	Family Chronicle	Animation
1961	Big Troubles	Animation
1960	It Was I Who Drew the Little Man	Animation
1960	Different Wheels	Animation
1960	Murzilka on the Satellite	Animation
1960	A Sober Sparrow	Animation
1959	The Adventures of Buratino	Animation
1959	At Exactly Three Fifteen ...	Animation
1959	Soon There Will Be Rain	Animation
1958	The Cat's House	Animation
1958	Petia and Little Red Riding Hood	Animation
1958	The Boy from Napoli	Animation
1958	The Tale of Chapayev	Animation
1958	The Secret of the Far Away Island	Animation
1957	The Snow Queen	Animation
1957	Once Upon a Time	Animation
1957	Again, Deuce	Animation
1957	Familiar Pictures	Animation
1956	The Twelve Months	Animation
1956	Old Friends	Animation
1956	Girl in the Jungle	Animation
1956	Adventures of Murzilka	Animation
1955	The Enchanted Boy	Animation
1955	An Unusual Match	Animation
1955	The Snow Postman	Animation
1955	A Brave Hare	Animation
1955	A Hazel Tree Twig	Animation
1955	What Kind of Bird Is This?	Animation
1955	Dog and Cat	Animation
1955	Stepan the Sailor	Animation
1955	A Pipe and a Bear	Animation
1954	The Frog Princess	Animation
1954	The Orange Neck	Animation
1954	An Arrow Flies Into a Fairy Tale	Animation
1954	A Dangerous Prank	Animation
1954	On the Forest Stage	Animation
1954	A Goat-Musician	Animation
1953	Magic Store	Animation
1953	Brave Pak	Animation
1953	The Crow and the Fox, the Cuckoo and the Rooster	Animation
1953	Flight to the Moon	Animation
1953	A Naughty Kitten	Animation
1952	The Scarlet Flower	Animation
1952	Kashtanka	Animation
1952	Validoob - Fell Oak	Animation
1952	Sarmiko	Animation
1951	The Tale of the Dead Princess and the Seven Knights	Animation
1951	The Night Before Christmas	Animation
1951	The High Hill	Animation
1951	Forest Travellers	Animation
1951	Friends-Comrades	Animation
1950	The Tale of the Fisherman and the Goldfish	Animation
1950	When Christmas Trees Light Up	Animation
1950	The Robust	Animation
1950	Fox the Builder	Animation
1950	The Magic Treasure	Animation
1949	Geese-Swans	Animation
1949	The Miraculous Bell	Animation
1949	A Cuckoo and a Blackbird	Animation
1949	The Lion and the Hare	Animation
1949	Ambulance	Animation
1948	The Flower with Seven Colours	Animation
1948	Little Gray Neck	Animation
1948	The Magic Carpet	Animation
1941	Mukha-Tsokotukha - The Clatter Fly	Animation
1940	Bear Cub	Animation
1940	Favourite Characters	Animation
1939	The Friends from Taiga	Animation
1939	Uncle Stepa	Animation
1938	Fyodor the Hunter	Animation
1938	Ivashko and Baba-Yaga	Animation
1938	Tale of the Good Umar	Animation