Sergei Yutkevich

Sergei Iosifovich Yutkevich (Russian: Серге́й Ио́сифович Ютке́вич, 28 December 1904 – 24 April 1985) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter. He was a People's Artist of the USSR (1962) and a Hero of Socialist Labour (1974).

He began work as a teen doing puppet shows. Between 1921 and 1923 he studied under Vsevolod Meyerhold. Later he helped found the Factory of the Eccentric Actor (FEKS), which was primarily concerned with circus and music hall acts. He entered films in the 1920s and began directing in 1928. His films often were cheerier than most Russian films as he was influenced by American slapstick, among other things. However he also did serious historical films, docudramas, and biopics.He won Cannes's Best Director Award twice: for Othello in 1956 and for Lenin in Poland in 1966. Of his later films Lenin in Paris is among the best known. In 1959, he was a member of the jury at the 1st Moscow International Film Festival. Two years later, he was on the jury of the 2nd Moscow International Film Festival. In 1967 he was the President of the Jury of the 5th Moscow International Film Festival.