curated by Eugenia Gaglianone

The innocence of a hare, when confronted by the arrogance of a fox, finds an ally in the unexpected courage of a rooster. The troubled courtship between two sinuous birds is characterised by timidity hidden under pride. And finally, a first encounter with fog becomes an opportunity for authentic growth as a curious and frightened hedgehog is faced with woodland sights and outlines of creatures previously unknown. Presented here in restored versions, The Fox and the Hare, The Heron and the Crane and Hedgehog in the Fog are three masterpieces by Juri Norstein – director, animator, philosopher, teacher, and much more besides – which draw on popular fairytales and the writings of Sergej Kozlov. Norstein was an extraordinary ‘craftsman’ capable of recounting stories of unequalled poetry, which touch the spectator’s soul thanks to a minutely detailed technique and the pictorial sensibility of Francesca Jarbusova, his companion in work and life. Their creations together display a perfect equilibrium between form and content. It is a cinema based on a deep understanding that returns us to a particular vision of the world and of art, a subtle sensation that comes from far away, from life and from the sense of belonging to all-encompassing nature.
For this occasion, we asked Juri Norstein to choose three Russian films that best represent the visual world so dear to him. He chose Fëdor Chitruk, Roman Kačanov and Eduard Nazarov; the first two were his teachers and colleagues, the third a fellow student of the same gener ation, all three are indisputable innovators of Soviet cinema. They worked together at Sojuzmul’tfil’m and participated in the essential transition towards an auteur-driven cinema at the end of the Sixties. Animation thus became a means of real aesthetic experimentation, capable of exploring the psyche and establishing an immediate dialogue with both adults and children that goes beyond mere entertainment. The programme is completed by the works of more recent filmmakers that are inspired by these earlier masters and the rich heritage they left behind. 

LISA I ZAJAC
(La volpe e la lepre, URSS/1973) by Jurij Norštejn (12’)

KOT I LISA
(Il gatto e la volpe, Russia/2004) by Konstantin Bronzit (12’)

ŽICHARKA
(Russia/2007) by Oleg Užinov (12’)

ŽIL BYL PËS
(C’era una volta un cane, URSS/1982) by Eduard Nazarov (10’)

Introduced by Eugenia Gaglianone

4 years and above