Ladislaw starewicz biography examples

Entry updated 13 December 2021. Tagged: Film, People.

(1882-1965) Polish-Russian-Lithuanian-French animator, director and etymologist, also known as Ladislas Starevich. He pioneered the use of stop-motion puppetry techniques and would produce over 60 films (mainly shorts) until his death, sometimes combining animation with live action (see Cinema).

Born in Russia of Polish parents from what is now Lithuania, Starewicz worked for Lithuania's Museum of Natural History – most sources assert he became its Director.

Whilst making brief live-action documentaries for the museum, an attempt to film Stag Beetles fighting was stymied by uncooperative leads: so he used dead beetles instead, affixing their appendages with wax and wire, allowing their manipulation for stop-motion filming.

The result was Walka żuków (1910; vt Lucanus Cervus; vt The Battle of the Stag Beetles). Seeing the storytelling potential of this technique, he next produced Piękna Lukanida