MAGIA RUSSICA

In 1935, three Walt Disney films were screened in Moscow. Fyodor Chytruk, then a young art student, couldn't believe his eyes: he was convinced that he had seen a miracle taking place before him. What he didn't know was that soon he would create one of the biggest animation studios in Europe: the Moscow Soyuzmultfilm. Through his personal story, we discover a magical art form that remained hidden behind the Iron Curtain for decades.

Animated films were considered a children's art form and passed relatively easily through the strict censorship of the former Soviet Union. Like all Soviet institutions, the animation studios Soyuzmultfilm enjoyed full government support. This situation allowed for the development of a style of animation that was not only for children. Magia Russica gives a rare insight into the artistic process of creating magic. The artists share their ideas about art, cinema and the new restrictions of capitalism. In the many film clips, the characters from the socialist time are brought back to life: from the Tom-and-Jerry-like wolf and rabbit to the melancholy couples who dance under the streetlights to accordion music…