She Animates

By Nicholas Sharp

I attended the virtual Visit with Michele Leigh and Lora Mjolsness on October 13. They talked about their book She Animates. In the book, they talk about some of the women in the Russian Animation industry. They bring these artists to the forefront in an industry that didn’t give them the credit they really deserved. During their presentation they showed three animated short films from four women in their book. The first was a classic tale of Little Red Riding Hood by Valentina and Zinanida Brumberg. The short resembled the old Disney style of Silly Symphonies. The short featured some noticeable changes to the origin and classic story rooted in folklore. For starters, the character of the Huntsman is absent and in his place is a new cat character. Red Riding Hood is also less of a damsel than in the original story. In these ways the film incorporated subtle equality and feminist nods through the lens of folklore which helps to bypass the Soviet Union censors. The second film Alter Ego – Nina Shorina was extremely different to the previous film we saw. Appearing to be more surrealist and abstract. The film also had a nod to Sergei Einstein’s Battleship Potempkin, a 1925 Soviet silent film. The third film is one that is very recent as it came out in 2013. The film was My Mom is an Airplane by Yulia Aronova. Overall, the presentation, gave me information that I never really thought about like the Soviet and Russian animation industry.