Directed by Yuri Norstein and Ivan Ivanov-Vano • 1971 • USSR/Russia

This animated short is based on the Russian legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh, which was reputed to have disappeared under the waters of Lake Svetloyar to escape an attack by the Mongols. This medieval folk tale was adapted into an opera by Rimsky-Korsakov in 1907, which serves as the basis for Yuri Norstein and Ivan Ivanov-Vano’s stunning stop-motion animation, which employs medieval frescoes to blend myth and reality.

THE BATTLE OF KHERZHENETS • СЕЧА ПРИ КЕРЖЕНЦЕ
Directed by Yuri Norstein and Ivan Ivanov-Vano
Written by Ivan Ivanov-Vano
Music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

In Russian with English subtitles

Winner of the Best Animated Film Award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, 1971