Elena Demidova, a director, screenwriter, and cameraman known for films such as Alicia in Wonderland, Touch of the Wind, and Sasha, Lena and the Iron Dragon, passed away on January 4 at the age of 59. Demidova’s daughter Svetlana shared on social networks that on December 30 the filmmaker suffered a vasculitis attack and experienced severe leg pain.
“It’s not finished yet. My mother worried about the film; she did not have time to fall ill,” Svetlana wrote in tribute.
The daughter noted that Elena Demidova was taken to a hospital in Vinogradova for treatment.
“Doctors were concerned about her legs and heart. They contacted me at five in the morning,” she added, reflecting on the sudden illness.
Demidova spent a lifetime in the arts and education. Over the course of 59 years she built a diverse career that included technical training as an engineer, a background in history, and a later vocation in filmmaking. In 2006 she completed film school with a second specialization, expanding her professional scope and enabling broader creative expression. She held memberships in the Union of Cinematographers, the Union of Film Directors of the Russian Federation, and the Union of Non-Fiction Films, underscoring her commitment to documentary storytelling and cinema.
Her body of work featured collaborations with prominent studios and broadcasters, including M. Gorky Film Studio, the Kultura television channel, and the Finnish YLE television network. Demidova also led educational initiatives, directing a documentary workshop for young directors at the Women, Gorky Children and Youth Film Studio, and running a workshop for young documentarians at the Kinoproba film festival. These roles highlighted her passion for nurturing new talent and shaping the next generation of filmmakers.
In a notable footnote to her career, the cinema world remembers Gleb Panfilov, a prominent director who passed away after a second stroke at the age of 89, leaving a lasting imprint on Russian cinema and on Demidova’s generation of filmmakers.