Film director, animator, producer
Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, Academician of the Academy of Cinematic Arts “Nika”
Associate Professor of VGIK
Member of the Union of Cinematographers of the Russian Federation
Member of the Expert Council of the National Animation Prize “Ikar”
Emmy Award Winner and “Nika” Award Winner
In 1967, Dabizha graduated from the Theater and Art School as a doll artist. In 1967-1969, she worked at the Sergei Obraztsov Central Puppet Theater.
From 1969, she was working as an animator of puppet films at the “Soyuzmultfilm” Studio, and from 1982 as a studio’s film director.
Dabizha organized courses for animators at the “Soyuzmultfilm” in 1979-1980. She collaborated with artists E. Bogolyubova, A. Melik-Sarkisyan, N. Vinogradova and others.
From 1991 to 2000, she worked as a film director and a puppet master at the “Christmas Films” Studio. In 2008-2008, she got back to work as a film director at the “Soyuzmultfilm”, and after as an Artistic Director of the Studio.
Since 2012, General Director of the “Christmas Films” Studio.
Since 2008 she has been teaching at VGIK (at the Faculty of Animation Film Directing).
She starred in the documentary series “Soyuzmultfilm – fairy tales and epics” (“Old Walls” series (2003), “Tales of the Old Arbat” (2004), “Art with a Woman’s Soul” (2004)), “Dolls in the World of People” (“Script for Pinocchio” episode (2005)), “Factory of Miracles” (“Animator” episode (2006)).
Two full-length documentaries “One Role for Life” (1997) and “Soul to Soul” (2005) have been made about her.
Los Angeles Emmy Award Winner (1996) for the Best Animator of the Year.
Laureate of the honorary prize of the International Film Festival in San Marino (Italy) for her high contribution to the development of the world animation (2012).
She was married to the screenwriter and film director Dmitriy Polonsky.
Filmography:
Film Director:
• 1983 “The Mouse and the Cat” (Merry Carousel No. 13)
• 1984 “Vanya and the Crocodile”
• 1986 “Lonely Piano”
• 1988 “Ferocious Bambr”
• 1990 “In the footsteps of Bambr”
• 1991 “The Trap for Bambr”
• 1994 “The Seville Barber”
• 1996 “Abraham”
• 1999 “A tree with golden apples”
• 2002 “About the fisherman and the fish”
• 2005 “The love story of one frog”
Doll Master:
• 2000 “The Miracle Maker”
• 2018 “Hoffmaniada”
Producer:
• 2011 “Can you Hear”
• 2012 “Note”
• 2012 “A Boy and a Fox”
• 2013-2015 “Funny Biographies”
• 2013 “Steamboat”
• 2014 “The House We Live In”
• 2015-2017 “It never happens”
• 2018 “Ship”
• 2018 “The bodiless team. The Adventures of the Soldier Kablukov”
“… In my films I want to talk only about love and kindness. I had a project which I could not finish. We agreed with the producer that the film will be about the hero’s dramatic love. And when we wrote the script, it turned out that it was … a horror movie. It was filled with nightmares and murders – the demand of today. Sorry, but this is not my kind of a movie. Feelings go away, only successful shots remains. I cannot waste my life on what I don’t like. A cartoon – is not only about pretty pictures. It should awake good feelings in children…”.
“Mother of the Old Lady Shapoklyak”, O. Kopylov
(“Altapress.ru”), 23.05.2007