Gennadi Kazansky was born on 18 November 18 or December 1910 in
Voronezh. He studied art history at the
Leningrad Institute of Art History and graduated in 1930. He was an associate professor of the practice of cinematic arts at the
Russian State Institute of Performing Arts. His film career began in 1931. He worked at the film studio
Lenfilm, first as an assistant director, and since 1937 as a director. During the
war, along with other employees of Lenfilm and
Mosfilm, he was evacuated to
Almaty, where he worked at the film studio
Kazakhfilm, then at Mosfilm. In 1944 he returned to Leningrad and continued to work at Lenfilm. From 1946 to 1947 he was an employee of the
Ashkhabad Film Studio, then again returned to Lenfilm, where he worked for the rest of his life. In 1956 he staged a children's film
Old Khottabych based on the fairy tale by
Lazar Lagin, which won a number of prizes at international festivals. The film
Amphibian Man, codirected with
Vladimir Chebotaryov, became
the leader of Soviet distribution in 1962 (65.5 million viewers). It is little-known in the West, but has become a cult classic in Soviet Union. Gennadi Kazansky died on September 14, 1983. He was buried at the
Bogoslovskoe Cemetery in Leningrad. ==Selected filmography==