Ivan Vydumlev (1917-1984) was a prominent Soviet-era film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his 1967 adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita, which was one of the first Soviet films to be released in the West.
Vydumlev was born in 1917 in the city of Zhytomyr, Ukraine. His father was a teacher and his mother was a homemaker. As a child, he was passionate about the arts, particularly the theatre. He studied theatre at the Kiev Institute of Plastic Arts, and after graduating in 1940, he began his career as a stage actor at the Kiev Theatre of Drama.
In 1945, Vydumlev transitioned to film and became an assistant director at the Kiev Film Studio. He worked on several films during this period, including The White Horse (1951) and The Red Flag (1952). In 1957, he directed his first feature film, The Story of the Young Man and the Sea. This highly acclaimed film was one of the first Soviet films to be released in the West and it earned him acclaim from both critics and audiences.
He went on to direct several more films, including The Last Summer (1960), Don't Make Haste (1965), and The Master and Margarita (1967). The latter was a highly successful adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov's novel and it earned him numerous international awards, including the Grand Prize at the Moscow International Film Festival.
Vydumlev's career was cut short in 1969 when the Soviet government accused him of being an "unofficial artist" and revoked his film license. He was forced to find work elsewhere, and he took a job as a teacher at the Kiev Film Studio.
Despite the setback in his career, Vydumlev remained active in the arts until his death in 1984. His legacy as a filmmaker lives on through his films, which are still popular today. He is remembered as one of the most influential Soviet-era directors and screenwriters, and his work continues to inspire filmmakers around the world.
