Yuli Raizman (1903, Moscow-1994, Moscow) worked as an actor after finishing his studies, and later as assistant to Yakov Protazanov. His first independent film, Penal Servitude (Katorga, 1928), describes the fates of political prisoners in Tsarist Russia. Then came the feature documentary Soil Is Thirsty (Zemlya zhazhdyet, 1930), followed by A Story about Omar Khaptsoko (Rasskaz ob Umare Chapcoko, 1932) about the struggle against illiteracy, and Men on Wings (Lyotchiki, 1935), a film about the ordinary lives of pilots. 1939 saw the first film adaptation of Sholokhov's novel The New Land (Podnyataya tselina), and the war was the subject of the films Mashenka (1942), Moscow Skies (Nyebo Moskvy, 1943) and, in particular, The Fall of Berlin (1945). After the war, the director focused on feature films and made works such as the cosmopolitan comedy The Train Goes East (Poyezd idyot na Vostok, 1948), the Socialist drama Cavalier of the Golden Star (Kavalier Zolotoi zvyezdy, 1950), and the lyrical story What If This Is Love? (A yesli eto lyubov?, 1961).
MFF Karlovy Vary
