Lenfilm

Lenfilm is a Russian film production and distribution company whose studio complex is based in Saint Petersburg. Its institutional origins date to the nationalization of local film facilities in 1918, when the emerging Soviet state consolidated parts of the city’s previously private film infrastructure. The organization operated under several names during the 1920s and 1930s before adopting the name Lenfilm in 1934. The name refers to Leningrad, the city’s Soviet-era name, and remained in use after Saint Petersburg regained its historical name in 1991. The studio developed into one of the most important production centers of Soviet cinema. During the Soviet period it was generally regarded as the country’s second-largest production branch after Mosfilm and worked across literary adaptations, historical dramas, war films, children’s films, comedies, television projects, and experimental cinema. Its premises attracted major writers, composers, directors, performers, and production specialists. Associated figures included Sergei Eisenstein, Grigori Kozintsev, Iosif Kheifets, Sergei Yutkevich, Dmitri Shostakovich, Nikolai Akimov, Yuri Tynyanov, Veniamin Kaverin, and members of the Serapion Brothers literary group. Lenfilm’s history is also connected with the Aquarium theatre and garden complex, a nineteenth-century entertainment site that became part of the studio’s premises. The location had hosted cultural performances before the cinema industry was established there, and its surviving theatre stage later served as a filming location. The studio has consequently combined production facilities with a historically significant Saint Petersburg cultural site. The Second World War profoundly disrupted Lenfilm. During the Siege of Leningrad, a small number of local cinematographers remained active and documented the city’s wartime experience. Most of the studio’s personnel and production units were evacuated to Central Asia. In Alma-Ata and later Samarkand, Lenfilm joined other evacuated Soviet organizations in the Central United Film Studio. The production organization returned to Leningrad in 1944. Among Lenfilm’s best-known works are Chapaev, The Lady with the Dog, Hamlet, Dead Season, Twenty Days Without War, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Dead Man’s Letters, Peculiarities of the National Hunt, and Hard to Be a God. The studio also participated in internationally oriented productions and hosted foreign performers and filmmakers, including George Cukor, Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Fonda, Ava Gardner, Michael Caine, William Hurt, Sophie Marceau, and Sean Bean. Its premises were used for productions such as The Blue Bird and parts of Orlando. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Lenfilm became a quasi-private Russian production company while retaining its historic name. In 2004, Kinostudiya Lenfilm was reorganized as a privately owned company. The studio has combined production, distribution, facility use, and technical services, and in 2007 it worked with Apple IMC to establish a post-production training center focused on Apple editing and visual-effects tools. The company remains associated with Russian cinema heritage, Saint Petersburg’s film infrastructure, and the production of feature films and television projects.

Saint Petersburg had an active film culture before the formation of Lenfilm. Private enterprises operated in the city during the early twentieth century, including Omnium Film, established by Vladislav Karpinsky in 1908, and the Neptun studio, which was active during the 1910s. The site later associated with Lenfilm originally belonged to the Aquarium garden, a commercial entertainment complex containing a restaurant, public garden, and theatre. The theatre had hosted major cultural figures, including Peter Tchaikovsky and Feodor Chaliapin, before becoming a film-production location. In 1918, the facilities and land associated with the Leningrad film studio were nationalized. The new Soviet film administration used several names during its early development, including the Petrograd Cinema Committee and SevZapKino. In 1923, the Aquarium garden was combined with SevZapKino and other smaller studios, creating a larger state-controlled film organization in the city. During the middle of the 1920s the organization was temporarily known as the Leningrad Film Factory Goskino, and further administrative and naming changes followed during the 1920s and early 1930s. The studio’s artistic importance grew as Soviet cinema matured. Directors, writers, composers, actors, and designers associated with the organization included Grigori Kozintsev, Iosif Kheifets, Sergei Eisenstein, Sergei Yutkevich, Dmitri Shostakovich, Nikolai Akimov, Yuri Tynyanov, Veniamin Kaverin, and other prominent cultural figures. In 1934 the studio adopted the name Lenfilm. During the Soviet era it became one of the country’s principal film-production branches and was commonly ranked second to Mosfilm in scale and importance. The Second World War interrupted normal operations. During the Siege of Leningrad, remaining local filmmakers produced documentary material about the city and its resistance to the German attack. Much of Lenfilm’s personnel and equipment was evacuated to Central Asia. In Alma-Ata and Samarkand, Lenfilm temporarily operated within the Central United Film Studio, an umbrella organization that combined evacuated Soviet production units. The studio returned to Leningrad in 1944 and resumed its role in the city’s postwar film industry. Lenfilm’s catalogue developed across many genres. It produced literary adaptations such as Hamlet, The Lady with the Dog, The Queen of Spades, and The Hound of the Baskervilles; war and political films such as Dead Season and Twenty Days Without War; children’s and fantasy films such as Old Khottabych and The Blue Bird; and later popular Russian productions such as Peculiarities of the National Hunt. The studio also supported more formally ambitious and experimental work, including films associated with Alexander Sokurov and Aleksei German. Several Lenfilm productions received recognition at international festivals, including Kozintsev’s Hamlet, which won a Special Jury Prize at Venice. The studio’s physical facilities continued to attract international productions. The Aquarium theatre stage was used for The Blue Bird, with George Cukor directing and Elizabeth Taylor appearing, and was also connected with work involving Jane Fonda, Ava Gardner, Tilda Swinton, and other international performers. Lenfilm participated in co-productions and internationally oriented projects during the late Soviet and post-Soviet periods, including Taxi Blues and the 1996 Anna Karenina. Following the end of the Soviet Union, Lenfilm retained its historical name even after Leningrad became Saint Petersburg again. Its organizational structure shifted toward private ownership. Kinostudiya Lenfilm was reorganized as a privately owned company in 2004. In 2007 it partnered with Apple IMC on a post-production training center using Apple hardware and software for editing, special effects, and professional certification. In the twenty-first century Lenfilm has continued to function as a production and distribution company while preserving its identity as one of Russia’s oldest active film studios.

• 2012

  Fyodor Bondarchuk becomes board chairman

  [1]Lenfilmen.wikipedia.org

  Fyodor Bondarchuk became chairman of Lenfilm’s board of directors in October.

• 2007

  Post-production training partnership

  [1]Lenfilmen.wikipedia.org

  Lenfilm and Apple IMC opened a post-production training center for editing and special-effects work using Apple tools.

• 2004

  Reorganization as a privately owned company

  [1]Lenfilmen.wikipedia.org

  Kinostudiya Lenfilm was reorganized into a privately owned company after the post-Soviet restructuring of the film industry.

• 1944

  Return to Leningrad

  [1]Lenfilmen.wikipedia.org

  Lenfilm returned to Leningrad after its wartime evacuation.

• 1942

  Evacuation during the Siege of Leningrad

  [1]Lenfilmen.wikipedia.org

  Lenfilm production personnel and units were evacuated to Alma-Ata and later Samarkand, where they operated with other Soviet studios in the Central United Film Studio.

• 1934

  The name Lenfilm is adopted

  [1]Lenfilmen.wikipedia.org

  The studio adopted the name Lenfilm, derived from Leningrad Films.

• 1923

  Formation of a larger Leningrad studio organization

  [1]Lenfilmen.wikipedia.org

  The Aquarium garden was merged with SevZapKino and other smaller studios, consolidating film production in the city.

• 1918

  Film facilities are nationalized

  [1]Lenfilmen.wikipedia.org

  The land and facilities that became associated with the Leningrad film studio were nationalized and incorporated into the Soviet state film system.

• 1908

  Omnium Film opens in Saint Petersburg

  [1]Lenfilmen.wikipedia.org

  Businessman Vladislav Karpinsky established Omnium Film, one of the early local production companies whose activity formed part of the city’s pre-Lenfilm film industry.

A heritage Russian film studio combining historic production facilities, auteur and mainstream filmmaking, television work, distribution, and technical services.

• Film production · 1918

  Feature-film production

  Lenfilm’s core activity has historically been the development and production of feature films across literary adaptation, historical drama, war cinema, comedy, children’s entertainment, fantasy, and experimental filmmaking. Its catalogue includes major Soviet classics as well as post-Soviet Russian productions and international co-productions.

• Television production

  Television production

  The studio has also produced or hosted television films and series. Examples associated with its later catalogue include The White Guard and the Sherlock Holmes television series, demonstrating the organization’s role beyond theatrical feature films.

• Film services

  Studio and location services

  Lenfilm operates from a historically significant Saint Petersburg studio complex that includes the former Aquarium theatre stage. The premises have served as production locations for Russian and international films, including The Blue Bird and portions of Orlando.

• Post-production · 2007

  Post-production and training

  Lenfilm has provided post-production capabilities and, through its 2007 partnership with Apple IMC, supported training in digital editing, special effects, and Final Cut Pro-related professional workflows.

• 2007

  Expansion into digital post-production trainingStrategy

  Background

  Film production was increasingly adopting digital editing and visual-effects workflows, creating demand for technical training.

  Action taken

  Lenfilm partnered with Apple IMC to open a post-production training center using Apple computers and software.

  Aftermath

  The center provided training and certification-oriented instruction for film editors and post-production specialists.

  Source

• 2004

  Transition to private ownershipStrategy

  Background

  The post-Soviet film sector required Lenfilm to move away from its former Soviet state-studio structure while preserving the historical brand and production site.

  Action taken

  Kinostudiya Lenfilm was reorganized as a privately owned company.

  Aftermath

  Lenfilm continued operating as a production and distribution company with private ownership and a multi-use studio complex.

  Source

1. 1Lenfilmen.wikipedia.org