MOSCOW, April 16 – RIA Novosti, Anna Nekhaeva. In 2000, the Oscar was awarded to Alexander Petrov’s animated film The Old Man and the Sea. With the help of a rare technique, the author recreated the legendary story of Ernest Hemingway, for which he received a Nobel Prize. Interesting facts about the animation masterpiece – in the material of RIA Novosti.

There are 29 thousand squares in the cartoon. Petrov painted them for a year and a half, all this time he lived and worked in Montreal. In addition to Canadians, Japanese investors also participated in the project.

Previously, the master took the A4 format, but since “The Old Man and the Sea” was designed specifically for IMAX, the canvas was four times larger.

The caricature was made using the “animated painting” technique, using slow-drying oil paint on a glass surface. A frame – a drawing. It appears on the screen for 1/24th of a second when displayed. So over a thousand images are needed for one minute.

Petrov distributed the paint not only with brushes, but also with his fingers. I used a method mastered by only a few masters in the world: mixing colors between frames, snapping a photo of the last image, and then pouring the oils in to slightly modify the next image and repeat the process.

For the project, a special motion-controlled camera system was built – later called one of the most accurate computer animation devices.

The “animated painting” technique is very rare due to labor costs. But masterpieces emerge. For example, “Van Gogh. Sincerely, Vincent.” The roles there were voiced by Saoirse Ronan, Douglas Booth, and in Russian dubbing were voiced by Konstantin Khabensky, Irina Gorbacheva and other famous actors.

The author’s handwriting – both in the images of cartoon characters (the animator drew the main character from his father-in-law), and in the details.

The master and producers visited the Cuban village where the story takes place. I spoke with local fishermen and even with Grigorio Fuentes, the then 99-year-old prototype of the main character.

Hemingway wrote “The Old Man and the Sea” in the Bahamas, which was published in Life magazine in 1952.

This is the story of Santiago, an old Cuban fisherman, on his expeditions to the high seas and his battle with a giant marlin that has become his biggest prey. The story is a parable about opposition to the forces of nature, a lonely man, perseverance and work.

Within two days of out of print, all five million copies of the magazine’s circulation were sold. Hemingway received the Pulitzer Prize in May 1953 and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.

The first movie of the book was shot in 1958. In Russia, the story was also adapted for the stage – for example, in Tovstonogov’s CIS.

The cartoon “The Old Man and the Sea” received not only the “golden knight”. In 2000, she competed for Best of the Year with Peter Peake’s The Monotony, Thorill Cove’s My Grandma Ironed the Royal Shirts, Paul Driessen’s Three Girls and When All Day Is Ruined by Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis.

Petrov’s project was noted by British filmmakers (BAFTA’s “Best Short Film” nomination), as well as at festivals in Japan, Canada, France, the USA and Croatia.

In Russia, the tape was awarded the state award – a special prize at the Message Man festival.

In 2000, The Old Man and the Sea became the first animated movie in history to be shown in an IMAX theater.

Alexander Petrov is working on new projects, but tries not to reveal the details until they are completed. He is referred to as the most mysterious and enigmatic cartoonist.