Kamenka, Alexander Borisovich

Alexander B. Kamenka was born in Odessa on May 18, 1888 into a well-to-do family. His father, Boris Abramovich Kamenka, was a banker and served as chairman of the board of the Azov-Don Bank, sympathized with the Cadets, and after the 1917 revolution, he emigrated with his family to France. Alexander studied in France, spoke several languages. Since childhood, he dreamed of becoming an actor.

In France, Alexander Kamenka’s film career began with a meeting with Joseph Ermoliev , the founder of the Russian film studio in the Paris suburb of Montrei, where all the color of Russian cinema emigration gathered. It was after the arrival of Kamenka and the departure of Ermolyeva to Germany that the film studio was named “Albatross” ( fr. Société des Films Albatros ) where French authors began to work, among whom were directors Marcel Lérbier and Marcel Carné .

Jean Renoir , who collaborated with him on making the film “ At the Bottom, ” characterized him as a man in love with cinema, who also proved to be a first-class producer ^[1] . After the creation of the French Cinematheque in 1936, Alexander Kamenka transferred to its founder Henri Langlois the collection of silent films “Albatross”, which formed the backbone of the foundations of the future main French film store. After the appearance of the sound film and the closure of the Albatross, Alexander Kamenka continued to collaborate with the Cinematheque and work in the cinema: in particular, he was the producer of the first French-Soviet tape staged by Jean Dreville “ Normandie-Neman ”.

Having lived in France in emigration for 30 years, Alexander Kamenka was able to visit the USSR only after the death of Stalin.

Alexander Kamenka three times, in 1947, 1949 and 1951, was a member of the jury of the Cannes International Film Festival ^[2] .

Alexander Kamenka died on December 3, 1969 in Paris.

• Kamenka, Alexander Borisovich (English) on the Internet Movie Database