Boris Efimov

I'm not Jordano Bruno
(Documentary)

Boris Efimov (b. 1900), a prominent Soviet cartoonist and propaganda artist, legendary for his political caricatures targeting American Capitalism. A series of art documentaries Art During Dictatorship based on interviews and thorough examination of the art of prominent artists, musicians and cultural figures representing both the underground, as well as the institutionalized art scene of the former Soviet Union. Created with the goal of illustrating the multifaceted character of Soviet art, the series also intended to explore the ambiguities in the complicated relationship of the Soviet State and the Soviet artist, the dynamics of artistic creation under censorship, and finally, the moral and psychological aspects of a creating art in a totalitarian society.

Judge Not directed by a New York based director Semyon Pinkhasov, author of I’m not Jordano Bruno about the Soviet cartoonist and propaganda artist Boris Efimov (b. 1900) and Music Made by Thursdays, addressing the issue of artistic activity under censorship - a limiting force that either entirely prevented artists from creating, or forced them to dedicate their talents to serve the state.

Judge Not documents with the career of Tikhon Khrennikov (b.1913), a prominent composer and the Secretary of the Union of Soviet Composers. Personally nominated by Stalin in 1948, the time of aggressive campaign against the so-called “cosmopolites”, the composer occupied the position of the Union Secretary until the collapse of the Soviet Union, because many of his colleagues believed that he was not the worst candidate for this role.