Marc Donskoï

1901

Marc Donskoy was born in Odessa on March 8,1925

1925

Finished his studies at the law school of Simferopol
(Criminology)

1927-30

Started up in cinema as a director with IN THE BIG CITY /"La grande ville" (1927), THE VALUE OF A MAN/"Le prix d'un homme" (1928), FIRE/"Le feu" (1930)

1934

SONG ABOUT HAPPINESS/"Le chant du bonheur"

1935

Directed the first dubbing in the USSR of "The Invisible Man"by James Whale

1937-39

THE GORKI TRILOGY/"La trilogie Gorki" :
THE CHILDHOOD OF GORKI/"L'enfance de Gorki" (1937), MY APPRENTICESHIP/"En gagnant mon pain" (1938),UNIVERSITY LIFE/"Mes universités" (1939)

1940

Received the Stalin prize for THE CHILDHOOD OF GORKI and MY APPRENTICESHIP

1941

ROMANTICS (Children of Soviet Arctic)/"Le romantiques"

1942

HOW THE STEELWAS TEMPERED/"Et l'acier fut trempé", THE JOURNAL OF A NAZI/"Le journal d'un Nazi"

1943

THE RAINBOW/"L'arc en ciel", Prize of the Critics' Guide of the United States, Stalin Prize

1944

THE TARAS FAMILY/"Tarass l'Indomptable", Grand Prize of the Venice Festival in 1946

1946

VILLAGE TEACHER/"L'institutrice du village" (Varvara), Stalin Prize

1948

ALITET LEAVES FOR THE HILLS/"La loi de la Grande Terre" (original title: "Alitet va dans la montagne")

1950-54

Donskoï falls into disgrace: Staline and Béria prohibit the screening of ALITET LEAVES FOR THE MOUNTAINS
Marc Donskoï is relocated to Kiev.

1954

OUR CHAMPIONS/"Nos champions," a documentary on athletes.

1954

MOTHER/"La mère" adapted from the novel by Gorki

1956

AT GREAT COST/"Le cheval qui pleure" (original title "Cela se paie si cher")

1959

THE GORDEYEV FAMILY/"Thomas Gordeiev" adapted from Gorki, Prize of the Locarno Festival

1962

HELLO CHILDREN!/"Bonjour, les enfants !"

1965-72

Lenin Trilogy:
1965: A MOTHER'S HEART/"Le coeur d'une mère", Prize of the USSR State;
1966: A MOTTHER'S DEVOTION/"La Fidelité d'une mère";
1972: "Padejda"

1978

"Les Orlovs" adapted from Gorki
Donskoï fell into disgrace during his last few years. The totalitarian regime prohibited Donskoï from accepting official invitations to travel abroad.

1981

Marc Donskoy died. on March 2,

After Donskoy's death, the communist regime did not allow the conversion of his apartment into a museum-house. The apartment where my father had lived with my mother Irina (who died in 1983) was transferred to other people.

Alexander Donskoy

See also:
- "Marc Donskoï"
choix de ses textes par Albert Cervoni, Coll. Cinéma
d'aujourd'hui, Ed. Seghers, Paris 1966
- "Un art de la célébration"