• Editorial and Censorship Practices in the Scientific Films of the “Malokartin’e” (Film Anemia) Period. The Case of Editorial Department of “Lennauchfilm” Studio

УДК: 778.5.05:001

DOI: 10.35852/2588-0144-2025-1-141-157

EDN: UKVLAZ

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Simon V. Dymshitc

Postgraduate Student of School of Art and Cultural Heritage
European University at Saint-Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, Russia

Editorial and Censorship Practices in the Scientific Films of the “Malokartin’e” (Film Anemia) Period. The Case of Editorial Department of “Lennauchfilm” Studio

Abstract

In the post-war years, the harsh rules of cinematic censorship led to the so-called “film anemia” (malokartin’e) — a policy of cutting down the number of film productions with a goal of creating a small number of masterpieces each year. Unlike fiction films, scientific cinema remained a relatively free field in terms of aesthetic expression, attracting many filmmakers who did not have the opportunity to work on the mainstream film productions. This article examines the specific institutional conditions in which popular science and educational films of 1946–1953 were produced. The study is based on the archives of the “Lennauchfilm” studio. The authors analyze editorial practices, the interactions between literary editors, scriptwriters and directors (in particular, upon the example of the professional practice of E.E. Mandelstam, editor of “Lennauchfilm” and brother of the poet O.E. Mandelstam), as well as the studio's Arts Counsil and the professional values that were reflected in its discussions. These materials allow to draw conclusions about the ambivalent position of scientific cinema in the Soviet film production system. They also make it possible to see the key role played by the turn towards popular science in the post-war years in shaping the identity of Soviet scientific cinema.

Keywords

Popular-science films, “film anemia”/“malokartin’e”, history of censorship, soviet cinema, Eugene Mandelstam.

For citation

Dymshitc S.V. Editorial and Censorship Practices in the Scientific Films of the “Malokartin’e” (Film Anemia) Period. The Case of Editorial Department of “Lennauchfilm” Studio. Theatre. Fine Arts. Cinema. Music. 2025, no. 1, pp. 141–157.

DOI: 10.35852/2588-0144-2025-1-141-157

EDN UKVLAZ

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Received: 26.02.2024

Revised: 12.12.2024

Accepted: 15.12.2024