The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, officially the S. A. Gerasimov All-Russian University of Cinematography (Russian: Всероссийский государственный институт кинематографии имени С. А. Герасимова, romanized: Vserossiyskiy gosudarstvyennyy institut kinematografii imyeni S. A. Gerasimova, meaning All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov), a.k.a.

[5] From 1934 to 1991 the film school was known as the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography (Russian: Всесоюзный государственный институт кинематографии).

Film directors taught at the institute include Lev Kuleshov, Marlen Khutsiev, Aleksey Batalov, Sergei Eisenstein, Mikhail Romm and Vsevolod Pudovkin.

During the period of the Soviet Union it was a requirement of the state to attend VGIK in order to be allowed to direct a film.

[6] More recently, its alumni were drawn both from the USSR (Soviet Union) and from other socialist and other countries, though it was a requirement for students to first learn Russian prior to attending.