History of the cinema concern Mosfilm

The Cinema Concern Mosfilm is currently Russia’s leading film studio, which brings together the best talent and production teams of the country. It is one of Europe’s largest studios operating state-of-the-art facilities for each and every step of the movie production cycle.

The future Mosfilm studio was built on the First and Third Film Factories of the Goskino works established in 1919, when the studios owned by the cinema moguls of that time — Aleksandr Khanzhonkov and Iosif Ermolyev— were nationalized.

In 1923, the First and Third Film Factories essentially merged into a single studio, located in Zhitnaya Street. In November 1923, the studio started filming its first movie On the Wings Skyward (directed by the studio director Boris Mikhin), which was released on 30 January 1924.

Since then, Mosfilm has produced more than 2,500 feature films — several generations of Russian and foreign viewers grew up watching them.

In 1926, the First and Third Film Factories of Goskino were named the United Moscow Factory Sovkino. The number of released movies increased, and so did the staff of the studio. The premises in Zhitnaya Street were not enough for the growing Soviet film industry, and in 1927, the groundbreaking ceremony for a cinema town was held in Vorobyovy Gory near the village of Potylikha.

In February 1931, the new studio began operations. During the following three years, the name of the studio was changed a few times, until it was renamed Film Studio Mosfilm on 4 January 1936.

After the victory in the Great Patriotic War, it was decided that the main film studio of the country should have a recognizable logo. 

The Worker and Kolkhoz Woman composition, which represented the accomplishments of the Soviet Union, won the competition for the best logo, and the author of the sculpture, Vera Ivanovna Mukhina, created a smaller version specially for Mosfilm and donated it to the studio.

The vanity card, which first appeared in Spring directed by Grigori Aleksandrov in 1947, has remained the symbol of the studio for decades.

At various times, remarkable directors, whose masterpieces carved a place for themselves in the hall of fame of international cinema, created their best works at Mosfilm.

Among well-known directors — Sergei Eisenstein, Alexander Dovzhenko, Vsevolod Pudovkin, Ivan Pyryev, Grigori Aleksandrov, Mikhail Romm, Grigory Chukhray, Mikhail Kalatozov, Sergei Bondarchuk, Andrei Tarkovsky, Leonid Gayday and many more.

Mosfilm’s movies were screened in international film festivals, competitions and shows and won international acclaim — Mosfilm won numerous awards, including the Golden Lion of St. Mark, Golden Shell for the best film at the San Sebastián International Film Festival, the Palme d'Or of the Cannes Film Festival, U.S. Academy Awards, and many more.

Mosfilm Cinema Concern today the largest Russian film industry leading company, combining the best creative and productive forces.

This is one of the largest studios in Europe, equipped with modern high-tech equipment, allowing to carry out fully the whole cycle of filmmaking.

Recent years, “Mosfilm” actively engaged in upgrading its technological base.

Done a lot of work on the reconstruction of the pavilions and studios, equipping them with the latest equipment and shooting equipment that meet the highest standards of today.

Dubbing studio “Mosfilm”, where the most modern digital equipment, became the first in the world in 2006 received from the company «Dolby Laboratories» Quality Certificate Dolby Premier Studio.

In the studio, in addition to a modern complex storage is a unique museum of historical costume, props and vintage vehicles.

Great value Cinema concern “Mosfilm” gives not only the creation of wonderful films, but also the preservation, restoration and digitization of extensive collections of movies, entered into the world of cinema classics.