Wladyslaw Starewicz (1882–1965) was born in Moscow but became Director of the Museum of Natural History in Kaunas, Lithuania from 1910. There he experimented with live-action short films to augment the museum collection. His attempts to record a battle between stag beetles ended in their deaths due to the powerful lighting rig. So instead he created miniature puppets from insect parts, animating a minute-long film using stop-motion. Lucanus Cervus (1910) is now lost.
After moving back to Moscow, Starewicz became a full-time film-maker, eventually directing over sixty live action titles. After World War I he fled to Paris, continuing to make animated films.
His second and third films, "The Beautiful Leukanida" (1912) and "The Cameraman's Revenge" (1912) are incredible for their technical artistry and storytelling.
