Wladyslaw Starewicz

Wladeslaw Starewicz was an animation pioneer; he was the first director to realize the potentials of stop-motion animation, before him the technique was only used in a public service announcement. Born in 1882 in present-day Vilnius, Starewicz began his career in Russia in 1909 with a short film on insects, a subject he would use frequently in his subsequent work. Starewicz’s 1913 film, The Ant and the Grasshopper, won him the praise of the Tsar. Following the revolution, Starewicz moved to France where he continued to make films. While Starewicz was offered money to work for American studios, he refused, preferring his creative independence. Starewicz is said to have an influence on animation comparable to that of Walt Disney, in spite of the fact that many of his works are now considered lost. Starewicz passed away in 1965. —Seagull Films