Mikhail Kaufman
- Known For
- Directing
- Born
- September 5, 1897 in Bialystok, Grodno Province, Russian Empire (now Poland)
- Died
- November 3, 1980
- Active Years
- 1922–2002 (81 Years)
- Total Credits
- 34 credits in database
Biography
Role: Meticulous television and film archivist.
Task: Write a 90-130 word factual identity profile of Mikhail Kaufman (Directing).
Constraints:
Use ONLY verifiable facts from the provided SYNOPSIS and SOURCES.
No invented titles, names, dates, awards, etc.
Original, neutral, encyclopedic prose.
Plain text only (no markdown, no asterisks, no headings, no bullet points).
Word count: 90-130 words.
No preamble, no JSON, no surrounding quotes.
Name: Mikhail Kaufman (Mikhail Abelevich Kaufman).
Roles: Soviet/Russian cinematographer, photographer, and film director.
Birth: September 5, 1897, in Bialystok, Grodno P [TMDB] / Bialystok, Poland, Russian Empire [IMDb].
Death: March 11, 1980 [Wikipedia] / November 3, 1980 [TMDB]. (Note: Conflict in sources regarding death date. I will use the specific date if possible or mention the year. Actually, I should be careful. Wikipedia says March 11, 1980. TMDB says November 3, 1980. I will stick to the provided info. If there's a conflict, I'll pick one or omit the specific day to be safe, or just state the year).
Career: In the 1920s, after returning from the Russian Civil War, his brother, director Dziga Vertov, offered him a role as a cameraman in the newsreel series Kino-Pravda.
Notable Work: Directed photography for Vertov's Man with the Movie Camera. In this film, Kaufman is seen shooting while walking on high bridges, hanging off a train, climbing a smokestack, and crawling underground with miners.
Directing Credits: Known for In Spring (1929), An Unprecedented Campaign (1931), and Moskva (1927).
TMDB says he is known for directing and has
Career overview
Mikhail Kaufman was a Soviet cinematographer, photographer, and film director. Born on September 5, 1897, in Bialystok, he later returned from the Russian Civil War in the 1920s. Following his return, his brother, director Dziga Vertov, invited him to work as a cameraman on the newsreel series Kino-Pravda.
Kaufman directed photography for several films, most notably Vertov's Man with the Movie Camera. The film is built around meta-reference and features innovative visual effects, showcasing Kaufman acting as a cameraman while shooting the film from challenging viewpoints. To capture the best shots, he is seen walking on high bridges, hanging off the side of a train, climbing a smokestack, and crawling underground with miners.
As a cinematographer and director, Kaufman is known for his work on projects including Moskva in 1927, In Spring in 1929, and An Unprecedented Campaign in 1931. His career contributions spanned multiple notable documentary and experimental works within Soviet cinema.
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Career timeline
Full Filmography
34 titles- All Vertovs (2002) as (archive footage)
- World Without a Game (1966) as Self
- Planet of Secrets (1964) Director
- Planet of Secrets (1964) Director of Photography
- Halo Story (1955) Director
- Earth in Space (1945) Director
- Our Moscow (1939) Director
- Our Moscow (1939) Camera Operator
- A Great Victory (1933) Director
- An Unprecedented Campaign (1931) Director
- An Unprecedented Campaign (1931) Writer
- An Unprecedented Campaign (1931) Director of Photography
- Man with a Movie Camera (1929) as The Cameraman
- Man with a Movie Camera (1929) Director of Photography
- In Spring (1929) Director
- In Spring (1929) Writer
- In Spring (1929) Director of Photography
- The Eleventh Year (1928) Director of Photography
- A Day at Nursery (1927) Director
- Moscow (1927) Director
- A Sixth Part of the World (1926) Director of Photography
- A Sixth Part of the World (1926) Assistant Director
- Kino-Pravda No. 23: Radio Pravda (1925) Director of Photography
- Kino-Pravda No. 21: Lenin Kino-Pravda. A Film Poem About Lenin (1925) Director of Photography
- Kino-Pravda No. 22: Lenin Is Alive in the Heart of the Peasant. A Film Story (1925) Director of Photography
- Kino-Eye (1924) Director of Photography
- Kino-Pravda No. 18: A Movie-Camera Race Over 299 Metres and 14 Minutes and 50 Seconds in the Direction of Soviet Reality (1924) Director of Photography
- Kino-Pravda No. 20: Pioneer Pravda (1924) Director of Photography
- Kino-Pravda No. 17 (1923) Director of Photography
- Give Us Air! (1923) Director of Photography
- Give Us Air! (1923) Editor
- Kino-Pravda No. 15 (1923) Title Designer
- Kino-Pravda No. 6 (1922) Director of Photography
- Kino-Pravda No. 8 (1922)
Frequently Asked Questions
What movies or TV shows is Mikhail Kaufman best known for?
Mikhail Kaufman is widely recognized for notable roles and projects including Man with a Movie Camera (1929), Man with a Movie Camera (1929).
When and where was Mikhail Kaufman born?
Mikhail Kaufman was born on September 5, 1897 in Bialystok, Grodno Province, Russian Empire (now Poland). They passed away on November 3, 1980.
How many credits does Mikhail Kaufman have?
Mikhail Kaufman has accumulated over 34 film and television credits across a career spanning from 1922 to 2002.
What is Mikhail Kaufman's background in cinema and television?
Role: Meticulous television and film archivist. Task: Write a 90-130 word factual identity profile of Mikhail Kaufman (Directing). Constraints: Use ONLY verifiable facts from the provided SYNOPSIS and SOURCES. No invented titles, names, dates, awards, etc. Original, neutral, encyclopedic prose. Plain text only (no mark...
Mikhail Kaufman by the numbers
Age in their best-rated roles
- Man with a Movie Camera (1929) as The Cameraman — aged about 31
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