Yuri Norstein

Biography

PAR Yuri Norstein (Russian: Ю́рий Бори́сович Норште́йн, Yuriy Borisovich Norshteyn; born 15 September 1941), is a Soviet and Russian animator best known for his animated shorts, Hedgehog in the Fog and Tale of Tales. Since 1981 he has been working on a feature film called The Overcoat, based on the short story by Nikolai Gogol of the same name. According to the Washington Post, "He is considered by many to be not just the best animator of his era, but the best of all time". Yuri Norstein was born to a Jewish family in the village of Andreyevka, Penza Oblast, during his parents' World War II evacuation. He grew up in the Maryina Roshcha suburb of Moscow. After studying at an art school, Norstein initially found work at a furniture factory. Then he finished a two-year animation course and found employment at studio Soyuzmultfilm in 1961. The first film that he participated in as an animator was Who Said "Meow"? (1962). After working as an animation artist in some fifty films, Norstein got the chance to direct his own. In 1968 he debuted with 25th October, the First Day, sharing directorial credit with Arkadiy Tyurin. The film used the artwork of 1920s-era Soviet artists Nathan Altm…

Directed

1. Hedgehog in the Fog (1975) — Director
2. Tale of Tales (1979) — Director
3. The Heron and the Crane (1974) — Director
4. The Battle of Kerzhenets (1971) — Director
5. The Fox and the Hare (1973) — Director
6. 25 October, the First Day (1968) — Director
7. The Seasons (1969) — Director
8. Winter Days (2003) — Director
9. Children and Matches (1969) — Director
10. One Day Before Our Era (1977) — Director
11. Good Night, Little Ones! (2000) — Director
12. Masters of Russian Animation - Volume 3 (2000) — Director
13. Masters of Russian Animation - Volume 2 (2000) — Director
14. The Overcoat — Director
15. The Films of Yuri Norstein (2017) — Director

Also appeared in

1. Hayao Miyazaki and the Ghibli Museum (2005) — Self
2. With You I Am Again... (1980) — Narrator (voice)
3. Islands: Georgy Rerberg (2007) — Self
4. Rob Saakyanc. The Last Hippy of the Pink City (2010)
5. Magia Russica (2004)
6. Oleg: The Oleg Vidov Story (2021) — Self
7. The Spirit of Genius - Fedor Khitruk and His Films (1997) — Self
8. Dreams about Alfeoni (2002) — Self - ditector-animator
9. A Hedgehog Came Out of the Fog (2011)
10. The Animators Who've Spent 40 Years on a Single Film (2021)
11. Gennady Shpalikov. Life Of A Charming Man (2017) — himself
12. Miracle Factory. Animation Director (2005)
13. Yuriy Norshteyn: Making the Overcoat (2019) — Himself
14. We Come From Cartoons. 100 Years of Russian Animation (2012) — Self