Felix Mikhailovich Sobolev (1931–1984) was aSovietUkrainian documentary filmmaker and a founder and leader of the Kiev School of Scientific Cinema. He received numerous honours for his works, including Honored Artist of the Ukrainian SSR, the MV Lomonosov Prize of theAcademy of Sciences of the Soviet Union and theUSSR State Prize.

Felix Sobolev was born on 25 July 1931 inKharkiv,Ukraine SSR, the son of a worker. He enrolled at theKyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Kary Theatre, Cinema and Television University and graduated from the acting program in 1953 and the directing program in 1959.^[1]

In 1959, Sobolev began working forKievnauchfilm (a.k.a. the Kyiv Film Studio of Popular Science Films), a state film studio inKyiv. In 1973, he became artistic director of the studio of scientific cinema at his alma mater.^[1]

He was a member of theUnion of Cinematographers of the USSR from 1956.^[1]

Sobolev died on 20 April 1984^[1] in Kyiv. He was buried in theBerkivtsi City Cemetery [uk].^[2]

In the mid-1960s, Sobolev revolutionized the concept of popular science cinematography. His filmsThe Language of Animals [ru] (1967),Do Animals Think [ru] (1969) andSeven Steps to the Horizon [uk] (1968) were broadly popular, selling out cinemas. His "experiment in the frame" technique made the audience member a witness to experiments proposed by scientists.^[3][4] By the 1970s, Sobolev became disillusioned with the physical sciences, according to his studentAlexander Rodnyansky, and began to make films about psychology.^[5] Radical for its time, his 1971 filmMe and Others [uk] made the audience part of an experiment onconformal behaviour andgroup pressure.

The direction of his work changed with the 1974 short filmBiosphere! Time of Awareness [ru], a film essay about the world and a person's place in it. This was followed by the 10-minute filmFeat which was shot in close quarters. Both films made intensive use of combined filming^{[further explanation needed]} and had significant impact on the development of non-fiction films of the time.

Sobolev also influenced a generation of students at the Institute of Theatre Arts and young directors at Kievnauchfilm, where he was the undisputed leader.^[5] These included Rodnyansky,Anatoly Borsyuk [ru],Victor Olender [uk],Yosif Pasternak, andAndrei Zagdansky.

InCinema Art, Sergey Trimbach writes that Sobolev was at the center of one of the two great film movements in Kyiv in the 1960s and 1970s. The other circle was led by Armenian filmmakerSergei Parajanov, who was censured as his cinematic style opposed Soviet principles. In contrast, Sobolev continued the tradition of Russian intelligentsia, believing in the endless potential of human capabilities, as in his 1978 filmDare, you are talented.^[3] Yet, he was not politically motivated, basingExploded Dawn on the work of a dissident and taking political risks by examining conformity and free thought inMe and Others.^[4] Sobolev came into conflict with the party committee overKyiv Symphony (1982), the last film he completed, which was re-edited seven times to meet political demands and left Sobolev angry and with a damaged reputation.^[4]

Sobolev's notable film works include:^[1][3][6]

F. Sobolev Street in Kyiv was named for him, with a memorial plaque at 17 Franka Street. Another memorial plaque at 19Chervonotkatska Street [uk] in Kyiv states: Here during the years 1964–1981 one of the geniuses of Ukrainian and world cinema Felix Sobolev (1931–1984) lived and worked here.^[8]

TheKievnauchfilm charitable foundation is named for Sobolev.^[6] Asteroid5940 Feliksobolev, discovered in 1981, was named for him.^[9][10]

Sobolev is the subject of the nine-part 1998 documentary seriesFelix Sobolev, Mission Interrupted (Ukrainian «Фелікс Соболев. Увірвана місія») by his student and colleague Olender^[11][1][6] and of a film of the 2012 "Native People" series by Yulia Rudenko.

• Фурманова 3. Шаги за горизонт: Фильмы о науке кинорежиссера Феликса Соболева. [Steps beyond the horizon: Films about the science of film director Felix Sobolev] М., 1987;
• Митці України. [Artists of Ukraine] К., 1992. — С.540;
• Мистецтво України: Біографічний довідник. [Art of Ukraine: Biographical reference book] К., 1997. — С.550;
• Фурманова 3. Колосяйво Фелікса Соболева // Кіноколо. [Felix Sobolev's Colossus] 1997. № 1. — С.68—69;
• УСЕ: Універсальний словник-енциклопедія. [Universal dictionary-encyclopedia] К., 1999. — С.1257.

• Felix Sobolev atIMDb
• Interview with F. Sobolev, "Cinema Art". No. 9, 1971; No. 4, 1975; No. 2, 1982.

• 1931 births
• 1984 deaths
• Ukrainian documentary filmmakers
• Soviet filmmakers
• Recipients of the USSR State Prize

• CS1 Ukrainian-language sources (uk)
• CS1 Russian-language sources (ru)
• Articles with short description
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• Wikipedia articles needing clarification from March 2021