Member of the Russian Academy of Motion Picture Arts «NIKA»
Laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of art and literature, 2002.
Laureate of the Perm Region Prize in the field of culture and art.
Anatoly Baluev (right) with his grandmother and younger brother
Anatoly Danilovich Baluev was born in 1946 in the village of Kochevo in the Komi-Permyak Autonomous District, where he also finished secondary school. From 1964 to 1966 he served in the Soviet Army.
In 1969 he entered the Department of Film Studies at the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) in Moscow. After graduating in 1973, Baluev moved to Sverdlovsk.
Anatoly Baluev (centre) with his brothers
From 1973 he worked at the Sverdlovsk Film Studio as an editor of popular-science films. From his very first years he gained respect both among his colleagues and among writers and directors. He took part in films by the studio’s leading directors — V. Volyanskaya and L. Rymarenko, B. Uritsky, L. Yefimov, A. Stremyakov, I. Boguslavsky, B. Galanter and many others — more than a hundred films in total. He proved himself a versatile and creatively gifted filmmaker.
From 1976 onwards, Baluev tried his hand at directing. Between 1976 and 1983 he made three short films, one of them a fiction work («Farewell of Slavianka»). His directorial debut «Oh, Bicycle!» rightfully entered the list of the studio’s finest short films. The film was warmly received by the press, was repeatedly broadcast on Central Television, found great success on the international film market, and at the 16th All-Union Sports Film Festival in Leningrad received an award and a diploma «For a witty treatment of the subject».
In 1981 Anatoly Danilovich was admitted to the Union of Cinematographers and was elected to the board of the Ural branch of the Union of Cinematographers of Russia.
In the late 1980s he became a member of the Russian Academy of Motion Picture Arts «NIKA».
From 1988 to 1999 Baluev worked exclusively as a director and screenwriter. From 1999 to 2006 he served as director and head of the television-film unit at the State TV and Radio Company «Ural» (Yekaterinburg).
On the set of «Oh, Bicycle!»
By the early 1990s it had become clear that a talented and original filmmaker had emerged in Ural cinema — equally accomplished as a screenwriter, editor and director, and, most importantly, having found his own theme: that which he wanted to share with the world through the means of cinema. Baluev’s author-driven documentaries, made in the 1990s, introduced viewers to the spiritual world, culture, daily life and traditions of the Komi-Permyak people, to whom the director himself belonged. The very first picture in this cycle, «We Were Smoke», came as a true revelation to audiences. Baluev’s cinematic story was so sincere, so filled with genuine interest, love and gentle humour, that the fate of the Best Feature Film prize at the Open Festival of Non-Fiction Cinema «Russia» was already decided.
The theme of his «small homeland» was continued in «Waves» and «Tupi-Tap». The cycle of films about the people of the Komi-Permyak Autonomous District brought Baluev fame and recognition, placed him among the leading masters of non-fiction cinema, and gathered an enormous number of awards at Russian and international festivals — including the particularly meaningful jury diploma «For Outstanding Documentary Work» at the Pärnu International Film Festival (1992).
On the set of «The Fugue»
In 1996 Baluev was nominated for the State Prize of the Russian Federation for his cycle of films about his small homeland. From the mid-1990s into the new century he continued to work successfully in non-fiction cinema, making films that drew interest and high praise from festival juries. Among them was «The Choir», awarded the Best Film prize in the professional category at the «Movisual-99» International Festival, and selected for the competition programme of the 20th International Festival of Films on Art and Pedagogy (Paris, France, 1998).
Morality and kindness are inseparable elements of every film Baluev made. Audiences and professionals alike, sensing the sincerity of the author’s voice, accepted and understood his cinema.
The jury of the Open Documentary Film Festival «Russia-2000» awarded the Grand Prix to Baluev’s «Bykoboy», made at the Sverdlovsk State Television and Radio Company. The press called the director «Hero of the Day, victor of victors, the holder of the Grand Prix at the last film festival of the century». «Bykoboy» is steeped in goodness, love and warmth. It is a film about real Russian life — about the things that form our roots. «Bykoboy» collected an extraordinary number of awards at Russian and international festivals, including the Grand Prix «Gold FIPA» in the «Creative Documentary and Essay» category at the international festival in Biarritz (France, 2002).
Receiving the State Prize of the Russian Federation
In 2003, for the documentary «Bykoboy», Anatoly Baluev was awarded the State Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of literature and art.
Many of Baluev’s films were broadcast on Russia’s national television channels.
All of his films, in one way or another, have been shown at Russian and international festivals, and many have received prestigious awards.
It must be said that each of these films is still watched with interest today, because all of them are imbued with the author’s poetic and philosophical attitude both towards his people and towards life as a whole.
