Mitta Alexander

Mitta Alexander

Alexander Mitta
March 28, 1933

Brief biography:
Alexander Naumovich Mitta (real name - Rabinovich) was born in Moscow. In 1955, he graduated from the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the V. Kuibyshev Moscow Institute of Civil Engineering, then worked as a graphic cartoonist in humorous and literary-art magazines. In 1960, Alexander Mitta graduated from the directing department of VGIK, where his mentor was Mikhail Romm. The director made his film debut in 1961, directing at the Mosfilm studio, together with Alexei Saltykov, the full-length graduation film “My Friend, Kolka!” Then, in 1963, he shot the dramatic film Without Fear and Reproach. Alexander Mitte gained worldwide fame with the film “They’re Ringing, Open the Door” (1966), which was awarded the Grand Prize “Golden Lion of St. Mark” at the International Film Festival of Children’s Films in Venice. The revolutionary romantic drama “Shine, Shine, My Star”, released in 1970, aroused great interest, in which Alexander Mitta also participated as a screenwriter. The musical and dramatic film “The Tale of How Tsar Peter Married the Blackamoor,” in which the main roles were played by Vladimir Vysotsky, Alexey Petrenko and Irina Mazurkevich, was noted for its bright acting ensemble. The first Soviet “disaster film” was called the film “Crew,” although the style of this film combines both melodrama and cinematic storytelling. Among the actors whom the director invited to act were Georgy Zhzhenov, Leonid Filatov, Alexandra Yakovleva, Anatoly Vasiliev. In 1991, Alexander Mitta, together with English filmmakers, directed the political drama Lost in Siberia, which was nominated for an Oscar as the best foreign language film. In addition, Alexander Mitta wrote scripts, starred in two films by Marlen Khutsiev - “I’m Twenty Years Old” (“Ilyich’s Outpost”) and “July Rain”, taught in Germany and the USA.


>> acting work
1. I'm Twenty Years Old - 1965 (Drama)
2. July Rain - 1967 (Drama)


>> director's work
1. My friend, Kolka! - 1961 (Film story)
2. Without fear and reproach - 1963 (Kinopovest)
3. They're calling, open the door - 1966 (Adventure)
4. Shine, burn, my star - 1969 (Adventures)
5. Dot, dot, comma - 1972 (Adventures)
6. Moscow, my love - 1974 (Melodrama)
7. The tale of how Tsar Peter married a blackamoor - 1976 (Historical / Biographical)
8. Crew - 1979 (Disaster)
9. Tale of Wanderings - 1982 (Adventures)
10. Step - 1988 (Social drama)
11. Lost in Siberia - 1991 (Drama)
12. Border. Taiga Romance - 2001 (Series)
13. Hot Saturday - 2002 (Melodrama)


>> wrote the scripts
1. Shine, burn, my star - 1969 (Adventures)
2. Moscow, my love - 1974 (Melodrama)
3. Crew - 1979 (Disaster)
4. Step - 1988 (Social drama)
5. And in Russia there are damned days again - 1990 (Social drama)