Film historian Natalya Nusinova received an award in Italy

In Pordenone, archivists from different countries honored a film scholar and researcher from Russia

On the evening of October 13, at the Verdi Cinema, as part of the International Silent Film Festival, held annually in the ancient Italian city of Pordenone, Russian film historian Natalya Nusinova was awarded the Jean Mitry Prize. She became the second laureate from Russia after the founder of the Russian Cinema Museum, Naum Kleiman.

“Silent Film Days” is a festival revered among film archivists and film historians around the world. Since 1986, they have been presenting an award, which three years later was named after Jean Mitry, an outstanding film historian, the first president of the archival festival Giornate del Cinema Muto. Each year, two laureates become its owners. This can be either a film archive, or a personal film restorer, archivist, or film scholar who has made a special contribution to scientific research in the field of film history. Among the winners of previous years are British film historian, writer, director, BAFTA and Emmy award winner Kevin Brownlow, French art critic and founder of the Toulouse Cinematheque Raymond Borde, Italian historians Aldo Bernardini and Gian Piero Brunetta, Soviet and Latvian specialist in early world and Russian cinema, who together with Yuri Lotman wrote “Dialogues with the Screen” Yuri Tsivyan, honorary director of the Czech National Film Archive Vladimir Opele…. Our compatriot Naum Kleiman received an award in Pordenone in 1994. In 2023, by decision of the international jury, the Jean Mitry Prize was awarded to film historian Natalya Nusinova.

She is a graduate of the Romance-Germanic department of the Faculty of Philology of Moscow State University. M. Lomonosov. From 2005 until the sad events of 2018, she was a leading researcher at the Institute of Cinema Theory and History (later – the Research Institute of Cinematography). Now we can only report with regret that the NIIK was liquidated by order of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. No arguments or speeches from experts convinced officials of the absurdity of such a decision. It’s just that someone liked a building in the center of Moscow, and the interests of science turned out to be an empty phrase.

Natalya Nusinova defended her master’s thesis on the topic “Realistic trends in French cinema of the thirties”, then her doctorate – “Russian cinematographic abroad (1918-1939) and the problem of mutual integration of cultures.” As a visiting teacher, she worked in different countries: three times – at the New Sorbonne in Paris, at the Free University of Brussels, and the universities of Amsterdam and Bordeaux. Now Natalya teaches at Italian Siena and the Moscow Film School. Rarely do any of our film experts have such an enviable track record.

Natalya Nusinova oversaw the programs of archival film festivals in Bologna and Pordenone, White Pillars near Moscow, where for many years the unique festival of the State Film Fund Russia was held, which attracted specialists from different countries. She is the author of scripts for one and a half dozen documentaries, more than 400 articles and scientific publications on the history of Russian, French cinema and cinema of the Russian emigration, published in different countries. Natalya Nusinova is the compiler of books about the French classic Francois Truffaut, Soviet directors Grigory Kozintsev and Leonid Traurberg, published in different countries, about her father and his co-author Semyon Lungin. For the monograph “When we return to Russia. Russian cinematic abroad. 1918-1939” she was awarded the “Elephant” Award of the Guild of Film Critics and Critics.

Natasha’s father is the famous screenwriter and theater playwright Ilya Nusinov. In collaboration with Semyon Lungin, the father of film director Pavel Lungin, he wrote the scripts for the films “Midshipman Panin” by Mikhail Shveitser, “Heat” by Larisa Shepitko, “Welcome, or No Trespassing” and “Agony” by Elem Klimov, “Telegram” and “Attention” , turtle!” Rolan Bykova. He also co-wrote the script for “Once Upon a Song Thrush” by Otar Ioseliani. Ilya Nusinov named his daughter in honor of Natasha Rostova.

A few years ago, Natalia unexpectedly became a children’s writer. Her autobiographical story about Soviet childhood, “The Adventures of Dzherik,” was born, one might say, by accident. Natasha was at the dacha, where she began to tell herself stories from her childhood, made sketches, and then her characters came to life, began to claim their rights, as often happens, and led the way. The book was shortlisted for the Baby-Nose Prize and translated in France, Italy and Spain. A dissertation was written about her in Cambridge, and a conference was dedicated to her in an orphanage in the Moscow region. A student seminar on Dzherik was held in Hamburg, where the author was also invited. Later, two more books were published – “The Chicken God” and “About the Giraffe Fedya.”