Alexander Mitta, Renowned Russian Film Director, Dies at 92

Renowned Russian filmmaker, screenwriter, and teacher Alexander Mitta passed away last night at the age of 92, after a prolonged illness. According to Russian media outlet SHOT, Mitta spent his final days in a hospice, where his condition was described as being close to a coma.

Family members reported that he had been seriously ill for some time due to kidney cancer and was receiving strong painkillers as part of palliative care.

Born in Moscow in 1933, Alexander Mitta graduated from the directing department of VGIK (the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography) in 1960, where he studied in the workshop of the legendary filmmaker Mikhail Romm. Mitta made his cinematic debut both as a director and a screenwriter, and he also appeared in small roles in films by Marlen Khutsiev, including “I Am Twenty” and “July Rain.”

Throughout the 1970s and 1990s, Mitta was a mentor to many young filmmakers, leading directing workshops at the Higher Courses for Scriptwriters and Directors, one of the most prestigious institutions for film education in Russia.

Among Mitta’s most celebrated films are “My Friend, Kolka!”, “They’re Calling, Open the Door,” “Burn, Burn, My Star,” “How Tsar Peter Married off His Moor,” “Air Crew,” “A Tale of Wandering,” “Lost in Siberia,” and the television series “Border. Taiga Romance.”

His work is considered foundational for several generations of Russian directors and screenwriters.

Reflecting on his teachers and influences, Mitta once said:

“Everything I learned, I learned myself, through great effort. But there were people who pushed me forward. My first teacher was Alexander Dovzhenko, but it was Mikhail Romm who truly set me on the path of the craft.

Everything I do as a teacher comes from Romm’s seed of professionalism. I also learned from Anatoly Efros and Oleg Efremov, who taught me about the inner logic of a character and the difference between professional and amateur art.”

Speaking about his approach to filmmaking, Mitta drew a distinction between the rational traditions of European cinema and what he called the “shamanistic” approach of Russian film:

“There are two ways to create art: the ancient Greeks found the rational, structured way, but there is also shamanism — when the creator enters a trance and brings the audience with him. Russian cinema is, by its nature, shamanic. But I believe that a film is a project, and I approach it as such—carefully planned and calculated.”

Alexander Mitta’s influence on Russian cinema is immeasurable.

He was not only a talented director, but also a passionate educator and thinker, whose rational approach and devotion to his craft inspired many.