How Do You Get the Rights to Soviet Animations?

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After the soviet union dissolved and gorbace stepped down in 19 91, oleg vidov was worried about what would happen to the animations. Jones says he immediately got on a plane to moscow and approached the heads of the animation studio. According to the b b c, they paid 500 thousand dollars for a 30 year contract. They found that some of the films were very badly damaged and had been taped back together with scotch tape.

When Joan Borsten married actor Oleg Vidov, also known as “the Soviet Robert Redford,” he introduced her to beautiful Soviet animations created in Moscow’s Soyuzmultfilm studio, like Hedgehog in the Fog, by Yuri Norstein. Joan and Oleg eventually acquired the rights to distribute the films outside of the former Soviet Union. One day, Joan realized someone was undercutting their business, and she devised a very Hollywood solution. We talk with Joan Borsten, Andre Violentyev, and former FBI Special Agent and current private investigator, Jake Schmidt.

You can learn more about Joan Borsten’s late husband, “the Soviet Robert Redford” in her new documentary, based on his autobiography. It’s called “The Oleg Vidov Story.”

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