Yuri Ozerov

Yuri Nikolayevich Ozerov was a Soviet-Russian film director and screenwriter, born in 1921 and died in 2001. He directed twenty films between 1950 and 1995 and became a leading maker of official Soviet war cinema. After studying at the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography and working at Mosfilm, he made early documentaries and then features such as Son and Kochubey. His best known work is the five-part epic Liberation, filmed from 1967 to 1971 as the Soviet answer to Western Second World War films, followed by the mini-series Soldiers of Freedom. He also directed the opening segment of the Munich Olympics documentary Visions of Eight. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1977.