The Spirit of Genius: Fedor Khitruk and His Films

The Spirit of Genius: Fedor Khitruk and His Films (Дух гения: Федор Хитрук и его фильмы), directed by Otto Alder, 1997. Since the beginning of film history, animated films have gradually evolved as an independent art from, undergoing their own, largely unknown devеlopment. The Spirit of Genius introduces us to part of this terra incognita in film history, presenting a sensitive and fascinating portrait of one of the last great figures in the international animated film scene: Soviet filmmaker Fedor Khitruk. Born in May 1917, Khitruk is not only a witness of that century and Russian history, he is first and foremost the founding father of post-Stalinist animated films in the Soviet Union, a genre which he has helped achieve world-wide recognition since the beginning of the sixties. Generations of children have him to thank for their first and most impressive visual experiences, and generations of students are still inspired by his films.