Film director, screenwriter, teacher, producer
People’s Artist of the Russian Federation, laureate of the State Prizes of the RSFSR and the Russian Federation
Holds Government awards of the Russian Federation, National Film Award “Golden Eagle”, six-time winner of the “Nika” Award
One of the founders and Artistic Director of the School-studio of Animated Films “SHAR”
Born in November 30, 1939, in Moscow.
Father – Yuri Borisovich Khrzhanovsky, painter and artist. Mother – Vera Mikhailovna Khrzhanovskaya (nee Berlinskaya).
Wife – Maria Froimovna Neiman, philologist. Son – Ilya Andreevich Khrzhanovsky, director, screenwriter, producer.
In 1962, Andrey Khrzhanovsky graduated from VGIK (Lev Kuleshov and Alexandra Khokhlova´s workshop). His thesis film was “Once Upon a Time There Lived Kozyavin” (1966).
Among the director’s works are “Glass Harmonica” (1968), the “Pushkiniana” series – animation films based on the works of A.S. Pushkin: “In the world of fables” (1973), “Wonderful Day” (1975); a trilogy based on the works of A.S. Pushkin “I Am Flying To You With Remembrance…” (1977), “And I Am With You Again…” (1980), “Autumn” (1982). In 1987, they were combined into a full-length film “My Favorite Time”.
For the Pushkin trilogy Andrey Khrzhanovsky (as a director) together with the composer Alfred Schnittke was awarded the State Prize of the RSFSR.
He is also the director of the animation films “The Lion with the White Beard” (1995), “The Long Journey” (based on F. Fellini´s drawings (1997)), the script of which was written by Tonino Guerra; “A Cat and a Half” (2002) based on the creativity and biography of the Nobel Prize laureate a poet Joseph Brodsky. Subsequently, the idea was used in the full-length film “A Room and a half” (2009). All four films were awarded with “Nika” film Awards, as well as they received various awards at other international and domestic film festivals.
In 1988 – 1990, Khrzhanovsky became the head of the creative association “Poisk” at the Studio “Soyuzmultfilm”. He was a member of the Art Council of the studio.
Since 1982 Khrzhanovsky taught at VGIK. He was the head of the directing department of animated films. In 1993, together with Eduard Nazarov, Yuri Norshtein and Fyodor Khitruk, he founded the School-Studio of Animated Films “SHAR” to train young directors and animators. In “SHAR” Khrzhakovsky holds the positions of Artistic Director, Chairman of the Board of Founders and he is also a directing teacher.
Khrzhanovsky is an author of the books “Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Book on Erast Garin” (2004), “Yuri Khrzhanovsky. Painting. Album” (2007), “Alfred Schnittke. Articles, Interviews. Memories of a composer” (2010), “Tonight We Came to Shpalikov. Memories, Diaries, Letters, the Last Script” (2018).
In 2020, Khrzhakovsky released a full-length animated film “The Nose or the Conspiracy of Mavericks” and a book of memoirs “My Dear… My Good Ones…”.
He is one of the authors and compilers of the book of memoirs about the great screenwriter, poet and artist Tonino Guerra “Chao, Tonino!”.