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Filmed with financial support
of the Ministry of Culture
of the Russian Federation

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Studio MIR
presents:

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Luminaries of Russian Animation

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Film 6. Valentina and Zinaida Brumberg
A portrait against the
background of their time

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Valentina Brumberg

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I was wildly jealous: why was I not in there?

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Behind that closed door was laughter, uproar
[Zinaida Brumberg]

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I thought: my God, how nice it is there,
how cheerful. It was a completely
different life. [Eduard Nazarov]

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Funny.
[Fyodor Hitruk]

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Everyone had to go through this.

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I had the same feeling as you:

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I was wildly jealous of
everyone who could enter...

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- That's right...
- ...who could come in without any
special reasons or occasions

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and just sit there sipping
tea and bawling with Zina.

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The Brumberg sisters' room
was a center of warmth and wit.

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I love their movies very much.
"Little Red Riding Hood",

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"Puss in Boots" - they were,
really, the first musicals...

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I still remember all these tunes.

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I even have here, I could show you,

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cassettes of them. I can sing them.
Let's say, "Puss in Boots"...:

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"Let's go and take a ride, my daughter,
Along the riverbank."

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No, first it was the Princess:

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"With cards I read my fortune,
(and something, thing ...ty)

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I wish to ask the cards this:
Who will my soul-mate be?"

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[Puss in Boots - 1938 (B&W)]
With cards I read my fortune,

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Full of anxiety.

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I wish to ask the cards this:

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Who will my soul-mate be?

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Who is he?

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Let's go and take a ride,
my daughter,

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Along the riverbank.

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Watch heedfully.
Outwit your enemy.

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If by trickery you beat your foe,
You will never be brought low.

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They were very well incorporated
into that environment, into that atmosphere,

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in that activity that was
typical for the 1930s.

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- Yes. - From the end of the twenties,
to the thirties.

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They were part of this,

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I would even say, polyphonic activity.

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Valentina and Zinaida Brumberg were born
in Moscow, to an educated Jewish family.

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Their dad, Simon, was a physician and
served in the First World War.

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Their mother, Cecilia, was a music teacher.
The family had four children.

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In 1898 - Valentina and Aleksandr,
In 1900 - Zinaida,

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and in 1903, Daniel was born.

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At the age of 4, all the children
could already read well.

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Their mother taught them
drawing, dancing, German.

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The girls did brilliantly in school.

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And in 1916, graduated with diplomas
of Early Childhood Educators.

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[Down with the Old Regime]
The Revolution began. Valentina and
Zinaida in 1918 enrolled in VHUTEMAS,

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the Higher Art and Technical Studios.

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[Faculty: Painting]
[Student Record Book No.751]
[Brumberg, Valentina S., 1918]

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Zinaida S. wrote about this time.
"In VHUTEMAS, where we studied,

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the workshops were led by Mashkov,
Konchalovsky, Lentulov, Falk.

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Our teachers were far
from the academic norm.

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The Sculpture Department had lessons in
Greek-Roman Wrestling.

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Mashkov began his classes with gymnastics.

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We did not have the right
to use the word "can't."

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On the wall hung a poster:
"Being sick is strictly prohibited."

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The play of the young Eisenstein
"Enough Stupidity in Every Wise Man"

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surprised the young sisters with its free
interpretation of the classics. They write:

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"It was an exciting performance,

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but to see in this eccentricity the
future creator of "Battleship Potemkin"

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was not yet possible for us."

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One of the respected authorities of
those years was Vsevolod Meyerhold.

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Here is the layout of the Meyerhold Theater,

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which was never built. In its place
now stands Tchaikovsky Concert Hall.

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The students did not miss a single premiere.
The VHUTEMASians' idol was Mayakovsky.

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He even came himself to Myasnitskaya
to see the paintings of the Brumberg sisters.

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A new kind of art appeared: animated film.
[China in Flames]

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Zinaida wrote: "Young artists, that is, us,

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were invited to come to the GTK, the
State Technical College of Cinematography,

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to do this amazing thing.

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We went to the Leningradskoye highway,
to the premises of the former restaurant Yar.

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The founders of the experimental animation
workshop - Olga and Nikolay Hodatayev,

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Yuriy Merkulov and Zenon Komissarenko
initiated a feature film: "China in Flames".

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This film became a kind of school for us.

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Movies counted as coursework.
[China in Flames, 1925]

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We became acquainted with the
technology of animation of that time:

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Out of thick paper, parts of figures were
cut out, and connected with wires.

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All was painted in black & white.
There wasn't a specific cameraman,

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everyone took his turn.
We all filmed based on intuition.

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Later, with Olga and Nikolay Hodatayev,
we made the film "Samoyed Boy."

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The plot of the film was simple:
It's the story of a Nenets boy.

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The northern episodes were
styled after Nenets woodcarving,

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and the Leningrad ones in the
graphic style of Dobuzhinskiy.

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"Samoyed Boy" 1928

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From this icy, snowy land
Chu sails off to Leningrad!

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Between them there needed to be,
in some manner,

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two poles: plus and minus. Opposites.

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Strangely enough, it was precisely
their character differences

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that gave them that spark.

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When they argued, everything shook.

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When they argued with each other,
it was a sort of screeching.

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But when Ivan Ivanov-Vano would come,

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it now became a polyphonic quarrel -
between bass and hysterical squealing.

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For some reason, all their discussions
would end with disagreement.

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"Vanya, do not get angry with us please..."

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Tsar Duranday

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Together with Ivanov-Vano we made
"The Tale of Tsar Duranday."

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The film was illustrated, black and white,

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based on the drawings of Pokrovsky.
[Tsar Duranday, 1934]

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[Duranday's Tsardom]

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On the ocean
yes on the island of Buyan

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Stands a baked bull...

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The war began. Soyuzmultfilm studio
was evacuated to Samarkand.

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This doodle was drawn on the train
that evacuated the studio.

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Everyone's here: the sisters,
Amalrik, Atamanov,

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and inside the carriage,
Ivanov-Vano himself.

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Here are the sisters with the actor
Gotovtsev, who played the tsar in
"The Tale of Tsar Saltan".

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The storyboard was scribbled on
a map that all studied to understand
what distant places they are going to.

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"In Samarkand," wrote Zinaida Brumberg,

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"at first we had things other
than fairy tales on our minds.

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But it became clear that we should
return to our own genre.

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The method used on "The Tale of
Tsar Saltan" was "Eclair" (rotoscoping).

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In essence it meant that actors played
out their scenes in front of a camera,

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often in costume and full makeup.

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A. Pushkin
THE TALE OF TSAR SALTAN

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There's an island far away -
[The Tale of Tsar Saltan, 1943]

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On this isle - a city gay;
[The Tale of Tsar Saltan, 1943]

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By the palace grows a fir
In whose shade, O royal sir,

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Stands a crystal cage; and there
Dwells a squirrel, strange and rare -

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Full of frolic; all day long,
Cracking nuts, it sings a song,

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Nuts, most wondrous to behold -
Every shell is solid gold,

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Kernels - each an emerald bright;

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The art of animation of that era was
created as an ensemble of these people.

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To leave anyone out was impossible,
they had become extraordinarily close-knit,

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each creating their own niche...
It was a very integrated art.

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Also, they were leveled out by the
workshops (of the production pipeline)

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though Ivan P. (Ivanov-Vano)
was one kind of artist

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but Lev Atamanov a completely different one,

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and the Brumberg sisters were quite
distinctive - they were all very
different as artists.

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But their films were leveled out because
they all went through the workshops
(of the production pipeline).

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Zinaida S. wrote:

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"It is now clear that a film with
source material - rotoscoping -

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can only be the starting point
for the imagination of the artist."

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But at first, many took the path
of tracing the acted performance."

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To make the dances in
"The Lost Letter" authentic,

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Igor Moiseyev was
invited as a consultant.

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He said: "Let your imagination run free;

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illustrated characters have a tempo
unthinkable for live humans.

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Rotoscoping only reigned briefly.
That "disastrous naturalism",

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but it still put a stamp on cinema.

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Here's the film "The Tale of a Soldier"
(1948)

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where the leading role
is played by Mihail Yanshin.

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May I beg for a little food?

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If I give him all of it,
I won't get any...

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But half would be too little.

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I'll give him all of it!

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I'll make do without, somehow...

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They hadn't forgotten their past at
VHUTEMAS.

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Really, it's an interesting
subject. If somebody

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one day decides to study
their development,

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they should be sure to pay attention
to the fact that they came

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from the very formalistic environment
that reigned back then at VHUTEMAS.

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"Fyeda Zaytsev" is a landmark film.

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It broke the dominance of
realistic films.

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And it was good in every aspect.

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A magnificent screenplay by
Nikolay Erdman and Mihail Volpin

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wonderful music, the voices of
Erast Garin and Mihail Yanshin,

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brilliant art direction
by Anatoliy Sazonov.

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Period, period, and a comma,

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Minus; here's a crooked face.

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Stick one, stick two, a cucumber,

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And there's now a little man here!

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"Aesthetic contraband -
that's what you're doing!"

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And right after that,

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they began fearing Goskino* more than fire.
*(the State Committee for Cinematography)

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They immediately...
I remember this being discussed:

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"Aesthetic contraband! You...

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And that little man!
I know where his origins lie!"

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So spoke the script editor from Goskino.

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This is not fine wine;
only ink, plain and simple;

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That is poured out here
every morn by Gavrila.

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We will drink the ink out of
these little glasses here

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In honor of clear consciences
in adults and boys!

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He used to say: "I know that these fables,
this Aesopian language of yours,

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is a cloak, but you won't fool me.

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 I have also learned
this Aesopian language.

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He warned us all the time:
He was horribly scared
of this Aesopian language,

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and most importantly, he was afraid
he would miss something.
And, of course: he did miss things. 

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<i>My eight-legged horse
like the wind rushes onward,</i>

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<i>I am filled with hope, and
I am filled with worry.</i>

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<i>I believe that Zaytsev
will not be a traitor,</i>

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<i>I believe that children
are good people also.</i>

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<i>I know that Zaytsev has,
despite everything,</i>

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<i>Some incipient conscience
and honour, at least!</i>

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Probably, after all, our animation
art also has its periods and epochs,

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when a time comes to an end,
and... becomes part of history.

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"Fedya Zaytsev", I'm sure, will be
eternal, like Michelangelo's "Moses".

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My acquaintance with
the Brumberg sisters

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was in prehistoric times, in 1949.

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I graduated from VGIK*
*(State Institute of Cinematography)

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from its Art Department, and was placed
(people were given placements then)

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into Soyuzmultfilm studio.

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Artist/art-director
Lana Azarkh

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Into the room where the Brumbergs sat,
I was led by the head of
the personnel department.

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In the narrow room sat two
very similar-looking ladies,

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but one was big and
the other was small.

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When the chief of personnel said
that I will work for them in the
role of art assistant,

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there was a harmonious shouting:
"We don't want her, we don't want her!"

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So, from 1955, and

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until the death of Valentina S.,
I always worked with them.

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"The Island of Mistakes", 1955

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In the film "The Island of Mistakes",
the cow and horse were
voiced by brilliant actors -

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Serafim Birman and Vladimir Gribkov.

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Excuse me, but who are you?

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- We used...
- ...to be...

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- ...a cow...and a horse.

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From task 118.
But after a certain shameless boy

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Added us together, we became...
what you see now.

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Many drew caricatures
of the Brumberg sisters. 

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Especially biting were
the caricatures by artist Grigory Kozlov.

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Yeah... 

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the people of our
time were true warriors.

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00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:57,961
It's very touching to remember them...
Not least because they were also

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extraordinarily jealous.
They really loved... 

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00:17:01,441 --> 00:17:04,941
actually, I don't know,
maybe somewhere on their own,

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in the dark of night, they somehow
behaved differently, but when in public,

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they just loved their work,
loved their pictures. 

219
00:17:15,782 --> 00:17:21,582
This is something that I don't just
envy; it's something to learn from.

220
00:17:21,682 --> 00:17:28,142
Their temperaments were different:
Valentina was explosive, more impulsive.

221
00:17:28,262 --> 00:17:31,942
Zinaida S. was more calm.

222
00:17:32,042 --> 00:17:36,742
Nicholas Robertovich Erdman,
their longtime screenwriter

223
00:17:36,842 --> 00:17:40,002
and friend, always said:
"How different those sisters are!"

224
00:17:40,202 --> 00:17:46,143
"One," (here he meant Valentina)
"acts like a courtesan, bets on races,

225
00:17:46,283 --> 00:17:52,563
visits restaurants nightly, while the other,
Zinaida S., sits at home and eats noodles."

226
00:17:52,643 --> 00:17:56,763
They were very cultured people and good
artists. 

227
00:17:56,863 --> 00:17:59,863
When Valentina S. went abroad,
[Tunisia-Lybia, 1962. Tourist Notes]

228
00:17:59,963 --> 00:18:05,383
she always supplemented her
travel notes with her drawings.

229
00:18:05,483 --> 00:18:06,783
These drawings were great.

230
00:18:06,883 --> 00:18:09,584
Zinaida S. was an outstanding
watercolor artist.

231
00:18:09,684 --> 00:18:15,384
These sketches for the film "The
Time Machine" were likely
inspired by journeys in Tunisia.

232
00:18:15,484 --> 00:18:19,644
The film's art directors are
Lana Azarkh and Valentina Lalayants.

233
00:18:19,884 --> 00:18:21,964
From the notes of Zinaida S.:

234
00:18:22,044 --> 00:18:26,284
By happy coincidence, before directing
"The Canterville Ghost" (1970)

235
00:18:26,484 --> 00:18:29,094
my sister and I went
to England as tourists.

236
00:18:29,194 --> 00:18:31,094
In Castle Menzies, in its tower,

237
00:18:31,204 --> 00:18:37,365
among its huge stones and spiral
staircases, we could visualize
our eccentric hero.

238
00:18:37,485 --> 00:18:39,625
When we worked we had a lot of fun.

239
00:18:39,765 --> 00:18:44,185
Valentina S. had the firm conviction
that work should be fun.

240
00:18:44,325 --> 00:18:46,105
So there was a lot of laughter.

241
00:18:46,205 --> 00:18:51,205
It didn't mean we got distracted
from work. It accompanied it.

242
00:18:51,765 --> 00:18:54,605
"An Hour Before the Rendez-vous" (1965)

243
00:19:04,686 --> 00:19:10,686
On the whole, it was our second home.
Maybe even our first home.

244
00:19:10,846 --> 00:19:14,806
They were very kind to their artists.

245
00:19:15,006 --> 00:19:20,226
They well understood that the credit
belonged to the artists and animators too.

246
00:19:20,326 --> 00:19:24,467
They very much treasured their art
directors and animators.

247
00:19:24,607 --> 00:19:32,127
They were bound by certain ties of art
and friendship, despite the age difference.

248
00:19:32,287 --> 00:19:35,407
I must say that the
voice actors we recorded
[Mihail Rumyantsev (Pencil)]

249
00:19:35,507 --> 00:19:37,407
were always outstanding.
[Mihail Zharov]

250
00:19:37,567 --> 00:19:40,707
At one time Mihail Yanshin

251
00:19:40,807 --> 00:19:44,507
directed the actors.
[Boris Livanov]

252
00:19:44,647 --> 00:19:47,287
He was accompanied, as I recall,
by the entire Moscow Art Theatre.
[Vasiliy Kachalov]

253
00:19:48,368 --> 00:19:53,438
The launch of the country's first satellite
marked the era of the Khrushchev thaw.

254
00:19:53,568 --> 00:19:56,928
For a period the totalitarian regime
became liberal.

255
00:19:57,048 --> 00:20:02,488
It became possible to make funny,
satirical films on contemporary themes.

256
00:20:09,368 --> 00:20:14,959
The Brumberg Sisters wrote:
"Big Troubles" (1961) was very dear
to us, it brought us nothing but joy.

257
00:20:15,089 --> 00:20:18,669
When Slovodskoy's script
was brought over,

258
00:20:18,809 --> 00:20:23,109
in the script itself lay the key
to how to graphically approach this,
[School]

259
00:20:23,249 --> 00:20:26,249
because the little girl
was telling the story.

260
00:20:26,369 --> 00:20:33,169
So back then, I made the first sketches,
like the first drawings children make.

261
00:20:33,289 --> 00:20:43,120
I made them on wrapping paper, with
watercolors, added thick black outlines,

262
00:20:43,210 --> 00:20:46,010
and the characters I also
made in that style

263
00:20:46,110 --> 00:20:50,510
and, incidentally, they move
in an unrealistic way... because

264
00:20:50,610 --> 00:20:56,990
children draw usually in profile.
So they move accordingly.

265
00:20:57,090 --> 00:21:03,311
The animators really had to deal
with some technical issues here.

266
00:21:03,411 --> 00:21:05,161
This is me.

267
00:21:07,011 --> 00:21:09,761
This is my whole family.

268
00:21:10,091 --> 00:21:16,141
Papa had to carry the whole household.
It wore him out and made him fold.

269
00:21:16,251 --> 00:21:19,331
So he chose to allow leftward
*(to the black market)

270
00:21:19,431 --> 00:21:22,531
some refrigerators to go.
*(sold them illegally)

271
00:21:27,931 --> 00:21:34,732
Well, those fridges left their places,
But they later found the traces.

272
00:21:34,932 --> 00:21:39,692
And our Papa is afraid now
that they'll come and sweep him up.
*(arrest him)

273
00:21:41,332 --> 00:21:45,732
This subjective,
non-realistic style, for me,

274
00:21:45,932 --> 00:21:49,492
who was already settled
into a kind of blatant realism

275
00:21:49,652 --> 00:21:56,453
- I was not able to master this style,
I flunked out, so my name
is not in the credits.

276
00:21:56,533 --> 00:22:02,773
Now I'll tell you about Capa.
She looks like Mama, not Papa.

277
00:22:02,853 --> 00:22:09,233
That girl Capa's a real looker,
Capa need not work all-out,

278
00:22:09,333 --> 00:22:15,733
Capa need not go and study,
Capa can get by without.

279
00:22:15,933 --> 00:22:19,434
The rock-n-roll scene was animated
by Marina Vaskanyants.

280
00:22:19,534 --> 00:22:25,334
She danced herself and was the best at
executing animated dance scenes.

281
00:22:25,534 --> 00:22:29,574
We basically had, you might say,
a salon,

282
00:22:29,734 --> 00:22:34,854
because people went there with
something on their mind, or without,
to have their say, or a good laugh.

283
00:22:34,974 --> 00:22:37,094
So, one day, I was sitting there alone,

284
00:22:37,254 --> 00:22:41,214
the door opened quietly that evening
and in came the studio director.

285
00:22:41,334 --> 00:22:45,855
Like a gray shadow. He greeted
me and said: "You know,

286
00:22:45,975 --> 00:22:50,915
Lana Aleksandrovna, when
it comes to all the other groups,
I know what's happening inside,

287
00:22:51,055 --> 00:22:53,935
but of your group I know nothing.

288
00:22:54,215 --> 00:22:56,215
Well, I said to him...

289
00:22:56,295 --> 00:23:00,555
"How are your intra-group relationships?"
"What questions come up?"

290
00:23:00,655 --> 00:23:04,015
Well, I told him that if any questions
come up, we successfully

291
00:23:04,175 --> 00:23:07,815
resolve them, and our
relationships are fantastic.

292
00:23:07,895 --> 00:23:13,736
And so, I never received the highest
rank and left the studio.

293
00:23:13,896 --> 00:23:20,566
The sisters had close relations
with the author Yuriy Olesha.
[Three Fat Men, 1963]

294
00:23:22,356 --> 00:23:27,996
At that time they lived under poor
conditions. Yuriy Olesha's wife,
Olga Gustavovna Suok,

295
00:23:28,096 --> 00:23:34,137
(the main character was named after her)
was forced to sew, and the famous writer

296
00:23:34,297 --> 00:23:36,497
appeared summer and winter at the studio

297
00:23:36,577 --> 00:23:41,057
in the same coat.
But was always brilliant and witty.

298
00:23:42,097 --> 00:23:46,957
Without this fuss, this bustle,
they could not live,

299
00:23:47,057 --> 00:23:50,297
for them, it was equivalent to death;
I am absolutely convinced of it.

300
00:23:50,397 --> 00:23:51,297
- Absolutely, yes.

301
00:23:51,417 --> 00:23:54,657
Equivalent to physical death,
and I remember it well,

302
00:23:54,817 --> 00:24:00,218
I remember, I do not recall which Tsar,
that is, which studio director

303
00:24:00,458 --> 00:24:04,858
posed the question of whether to send
them off to an honorable retirement.

304
00:24:05,018 --> 00:24:12,138
They broke out in tears, but who was I then?
I was chairman of that creative section,

305
00:24:12,258 --> 00:24:14,158
also part of the management.
- That's right.

306
00:24:14,258 --> 00:24:17,858
"Fedenka, please make them not fire us!"

307
00:24:17,938 --> 00:24:23,819
Valentina S. died precisely because
they were denied work.

308
00:24:23,899 --> 00:24:28,119
They still had their strength and,
to be sure, <i>could</i> have still worked.

309
00:24:28,219 --> 00:24:32,799
[About a Cruel Stepmother, 1966]
<i>Holy moley, boy oh boy,
Why learn Gaidar or Tolstoy?</i>

310
00:24:32,899 --> 00:24:37,569
<i>Why learn pedagogically?
Why think smart or logically?</i>

311
00:24:37,659 --> 00:24:41,859
<i>Nightingale, nightingale,
little bird!</i>

312
00:24:42,139 --> 00:24:46,649
Every era gives birth to its own
masterpieces that will surely stay around.

313
00:24:46,739 --> 00:24:51,460
And of those, many, many will be
by our dear Brumberg sisters.

314
00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:56,900
Valentina S. who knew three languages,
began to study Spanish.

315
00:24:56,980 --> 00:25:01,380
When I asked: "why do you need it?"
she said: "I believe in an afterlife..."

316
00:25:11,500 --> 00:25:13,561
Film crew
writer, director Irina Margolina

317
00:25:13,661 --> 00:25:15,461
 camera G. Lyahobetskiy
sound V. Tarasov, I. Voronin

318
00:25:15,541 --> 00:25:17,461
montage D. Zhigunov, K. Lunkin
ass. directors M. Vladimirova,
G. Lyahovetskiy, A. Rabinovich

319
00:25:17,581 --> 00:25:19,461
production director A. Zhukov
music K. Bodrov, Ye. Voronovskiy
consultant Georgiy Borodin

320
00:25:19,621 --> 00:25:21,661
narrator Eduard Nazarov

321
00:25:21,781 --> 00:25:23,101
Historic material was used from
Gosfilmofond, the Russian State Film
and Photo Archive,

322
00:25:23,201 --> 00:25:24,501
the State Central Film Museum,
and the personal archives of
Mark Lyahovetskiy & Lev Atamanov

323
00:25:24,601 --> 00:25:25,601
Special thanks for materials shared by
Anna Lvovna Atamanova & the Brumberg family

324
00:25:25,671 --> 00:25:26,791
Film fragments were shown from
"China in Flames (Hands Off China)" (1925)

325
00:25:26,961 --> 00:25:28,441
"Samoyed Boy" (1928)

326
00:25:28,541 --> 00:25:30,541
"The Tale of Tsar Durandai" (1934)

327
00:25:30,621 --> 00:25:32,541
"Puss in Boots" (1938)

328
00:25:32,621 --> 00:25:34,661
"The Tale of Tsar Saltan" (1943)

329
00:25:34,781 --> 00:25:36,751
"The Lost Letter" (1945)

330
00:25:36,831 --> 00:25:38,752
"The Tale of a Soldier" (1948)

331
00:25:38,832 --> 00:25:40,702
"Fedya Zaitsev" (1948)
"The Island of Mistakes" (1955)

332
00:25:40,782 --> 00:25:42,682
"Big Troubles" (1961)
"Three Fat Men" (1963)

333
00:25:42,792 --> 00:25:45,582
"The Hour Before the Rendez-Vous" (1965)
"About a Cruel Stepmother" (1966)

334
00:25:45,662 --> 00:25:47,582
"The Canterville Ghost" (1970)

335
00:25:48,942 --> 00:25:51,462
executive producer
Irina Margolina

336
00:25:52,222 --> 00:25:53,642
The End
Film produced by Studio MIR 2013

337
00:25:53,742 --> 00:26:00,092
Subs by Alevtina & Eus, Apr-Jun 2015,
revised by Niffiwan, Oct 2025