Ladislas Starewicz (1882-1965), educated as an entomologist, was by 1910 Director of the Natural History Museum in Kono, Lithuania. After filming several live-action documentaries for the Museum, he started a film about fighting stag beetles but was frustrated when the insects refused to perform under lights. Starewicz decided to recreate the fight by articulating dead beetles in stop-motion photography; he thus discovered his true vocation. In 1911, he moved to Moscow and became a full-time filmmaker for the pioneer Khanzhonkov Company, for which he made this wonderful film among some 25 others. He also directed about 60 live-action features before moving to Paris after the 1917 Revolution where, assisted by his wife and daughters, he made glorious puppet animation fantasy films for the rest of his life.
Category
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Short film