The neural network brought Sergei Obraztsov to life at the Puppet Theater

The director’s avatar “presented” an award named after him

XII International Festival of Puppet Theaters named after. S.V. Obraztsov ended with the presentation of an award named after the great director and actor. The tradition of rewarding the best of the best has been revived after 22 years. New numbered figurines for Obraztsovfest made of precious metals were created by sculptor and artist Andrei Kovalchuk. The main surprise of the ceremony was the appearance of the founder of the famous puppet theater – Sergei Obraztsov.

The first five numbered figurines were made in 2001. And now, 22 years later, Andrei Kovalchuk has created two more numbered awards – the sixth and seventh. The names of their owners were announced at the ceremony.

“For his contribution to the development of the art of puppet theater,” the International Sergei Obraztsov Prize was awarded to the famous puppeteer, creator of the Petrushkina Sloboda theater, actor and director Anatoly Arkhipov. The second laureate was Elena Ivanova, artistic director of the Ivanovo Puppet Theater, actress and director, playwright and teacher, president and honorary member of the Russian Center of the International Union of Puppet Theater Workers UNIMA.

Anatoly Arkhipov received the award from the hands of Boris Goldovsky, Doctor of Art History, who heads the Moscow Puppet Theater on Spartakovskaya. Elena Ivanova was unable to come from Ivanovo to Moscow; the director of the Ivanovo Puppet Theater, Sergei Rigert, accepted the statuette for her. The award was presented by production director Ekaterina Obraztsova.

At this exciting moment, the incredible happened – Sergei Obraztsov appeared on stage in person. The resurrection of the great puppeteer became possible thanks to new technologies: the virtual image and voice of Sergei Vladimirovich was generated by a neural network, the algorithms for which were set by director Maxim Kustov.

He allowed himself such freedom for a reason – the idea fit perfectly into the theme of the festival “Technologies of the Wonderful”. And the host and virtual guide through the festival was a huge tablet doll four meters tall. The musical accompaniment of the event also sounded in the style of a techno-miracle: it was provided by the soloists of a futuristic musical trio: Nikolay Shamshin (electric cello), Alisa Mandrik (synthesizer and vocals), Vladislav Mikhailov (modular synthesizers).