Esfir Shub - biography

Esfir Ilyichna Shub (Russian: Эсфи́рь Ильи́нична Шуб; 16 March 1894, Surazh, Russian Empire – 21 September 1959, Moscow, Soviet Union), also referred as Esther Shub, was a pioneering Soviet filmmaker.

Born in Surazh, Russian Empire, Shub began her career in film as a re-editor for Goskino; she edited several Western films according to Goskino standards, including Fritz Lang's Dr. Mabuse. In the early 1920s, Shub began a study of Russian pre-revolutionary history. Her study resulted in the documentary film considered to be her masterpiece, The Fall of the Romanov Dynasty (1927), the first in a trilogy that continued with The Great Road (1927) and closed with Lev Tolstoy and the Russia of Nicolai II (1928). In 1932, Shub completed the first Soviet documentary film to employ sound. She was a pioneer in the genre of compilation film, in the use of historical footage, and in recreating historical scenes in order to shoot new footage.