Kyivnaukfilm, and sometimes translated as Kyiv Science Film, was a film studio in the Soviet Union located in Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR. Although it was created in 1941 to produce popular science films, it eventually became best known for its animated films, and remained active in Ukrainian animation for decades.

Description

Its main task was production of popular science films and documentaries covering a broad range of topics. In 1959, Kyivnaukfilm (an abbreviation for "Kyiv Science Films"), under Hippolyte Lazarchuk expanded into animation. In addition, it released 342 animated films, a large number of which are still popular today, such as a series about Zaporozhian Cossacks called Cossacks (directed by Volodymyr Dakhno), Adventures of Captain Wrongel series, Doctor Aybolit, and a version of Treasure Island (all three directed by David Cherkassky). The studio's films received numerous awards at international and national film festivals, such as the World Festival of Animated Film in Zagreb for Iryna Hurvych's How Women Sold Men and the Animated Film Festival in New York. Film director Felix Sobolev (Animals' Tongue, I and Others, Can Animals Think?) and studio Editor-in-Chief Yevheniy Zahdanskyi are considered to be trailblazers and figures of major influence in the documentary field in the former Soviet Union. By 1966 the studio released over 400 films annually. In 1993 Kyinaukfilm produced Unknown Ukraine: Sketches of Our History, a series of 104 films presenting a comprehensive history of Ukraine. In 1993 Kyivnaukfilm was split into National Cinematheque of Ukraine and Ukranimafilm.

Reorganization

On March 29, 2019, in accordance with the order of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine No. 256 "On the Reorganization of the State Enterprise "Ukrainian Animation Film Studio", the film studio "Ukranimafilm" was merged with the "Dovzhenko-Center," which became its legal successor.

Filmography

Animation

Popular science / documentaries