Alexandr Petrov (1957), famous russian cartoonist, 1 Oscar Award & 2 Oscar nominations
Born in Prehistoye, Yaroslavl Region, USSR (now Russia). He completed his art studies at Jaroslawl Art Institute, where, as a young student, he realized his first animated film. In 1976 he entered Vsesoyouzny Gosoudarstvenni Institut Kinematographiy (VGIK) in Moscow and, after obtaining a diploma, he started working at Sverdlovsk film studio. In 1989 he made THE COW, a ten-minute long ecological and satiric film that used oil painting on a cell. It gained many international festival awards, including an Oscar nomination.
For THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA (1999), Petrov took four years to hand-paint more than 29,000 images on sheets of glass directly under the IMAX camera on an animation stand. OLD MAN... became the first large format film to receive an Award for Animated Short.
He dipped a finger into slow-drying oil paint and applied it to a piece of glass. In Alexandr's opinion, a filigree pattern created by fingertips is the shortest way from heart to the image. "Today they are my only instrument always accessible and making me comfortable", Alexandr said about his hands. "Perhaps some day new computer programs will be invented that will do it better than me."
"I was happy to represent Russia at the Oscar ceremony, happy that the Oscar went to a Russian cartoon. I feel proud that I am a Russian animator", said Alexandr Petrov. "I've got many prizes. The first of them is the Grand-Prix of the Russian-Ukrainian animated cartoon festival Krok. It was followed by several other festivals where I also took prizes. Attending the Oscar ceremony together with me were my producers from Japan and Canada. They handed me prizes from their own countries. So I returned to Russia with an armful of awards".
THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA, is a story of friendship between a young boy and an aging fisherman tormented by hunger and weeks of ill luck. Santiago, a once strong, proud man is coming to terms with his failing abilities and age/ After many weeks of returning home to his small village, day after day with nothing in his boat, Santiago is forced to accept the other villager's small charities. He resolves to sail far out to sea in search of a catch that will redeem his self-confidence. Early the next morning, he descends to his fishing skiff, and rows out, into the dark sea, saying good-bye to his friend, the small boy, and the safety of the beach, perhaps for the last time.
Later that day his luck turns and he hooks the giant marlin. The battle begins, not just with the fish, but with himself as well; the battle for his life, his regained youth and the return of his peer's respect. For two days and two nights his adversary pulls him further out to sea. Memories of his youth fill his vision, memories of battles fought and of scars healed. For hours at a time the physical game, he convinces himself, is only winnable if he can triumph mentally. Unable to loosen or even adjust his grip, for fear that his foe would sense his failing strength, Santiago is forced into a motionless prison, escape from which, is in the hands of his greatest adversary ever.
"The Old Man and the Sea" is one of Hemingway's most enduring works and this film, animated and directed by Alexander Petrov, recasts in the authors striking style, the classic theme of courage in the face of defeat, of personal triumph won from loss. Magnificently transposed through this award winning artist's more than 29,000 oil paintings, this film carries all the emotional power and meaning of the original story.
3 nominations, 1 Award
Nominated for Best Achievement in Animated Short Films 1989: THE COW - Producer
Nominated for Best Achievement in Animated Short Films 1997: THE MERMAID - Producer
Best Achievement in Animated Short Films 1999: THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA - Producer
Filmografy
Korova (The Cow)
USSR (1989): Animated/Short
In the Russian countryside, a family lives next to a railroad track. A boy remembers when he and his parents had a cow, living off its milk and using it as a beast of burden. The cow has a calf that the boy's father sells. The cow, perhaps grieving for its lost calf, acts strangely, bolts from the boy, and meets with disaster. The boy dreams of calf, cow, train, and plow in a phantasmagoric collision. Later, the boy's remembrance of things past becomes sweet and elegiac.
· Short Films (Animated Films) 1989: The "Pilot" Co-op Animated Film Studio with VPTO Videofilm. Alexander Petrov - Producer
1 nomination
Rusalka (Mermaid)
Russia (1997): Animation/Short
This 10-minute film is a haunting tale of an old monk and his young novice who live by the sea. As the story unfolds, we learn that many years ago, the old man betrayed his bride and she committed suicide.(Animation World News)· Achievement in Animated Short Films 1997: Film Company "DAGO"/"SHAR" School-Studio/Studio "PANORAMA," Yaroslavl. Alexander Petrov, producer
1 nomination
The Old Man and the Sea
Canada/Japan/Russia (1999): Animation/Short
The Old Man and the Sea is one of Hemingway's most enduring works and this film, animated and directed by Alexander Petrov, recasts in the authors striking style, the classic theme of courage in the face of defeat, of personal triumph won from loss. Magnificently transposed through this award winning artist's more than 29,000 oil paintings, this film carries all the emotional power and meaning of the original story. (Animation World News)
· Best Achievement in Animated Short Films 1999: Pascal Blais, Inc./Imagica Corp./Panorama Film Studio of Yaroslavl. Directed by Alexander Petrov
1 nomination, 1 Award
Ссылки:
The Old Man and the Sea (http://www.awn.com/oscars00/oldman.php3)