Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography


The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, a.k.a. VGIK, is a film school in Moscow, Russia.

History

The institute was founded in 1919 by the film director Vladimir Gardin as the Moscow Film School and is the oldest film school in the world. From 1934 to 1991 the film school was known as the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography.
Film directors who have taught at the institute include Lev Kuleshov, Marlen Khutsiev, Aleksey Batalov, Sergei Eisenstein, Mikhail Romm and Vsevolod Pudovkin. Alumni include Sergei Bondarchuk, Elem Klimov, Sergei Parajanov, Alexander Sokurov and Andrei Tarkovsky.
Since 1986, the school has been named after the film director and actor Sergei Gerasimov. A full member of the international CILECT network of film schools, the Institute became a university in 2008.

Notable alumni[Wikipedia:Notable alumni]

During the period of the Soviet Union it was a requirement of the state to attend VGIK in order to be allowed to direct a film.