Stepan Koval

Stepan Mykolaiovych Koval (born 18 July 1965) is a Ukrainian film director and animator. Recipient of both the Berlin Film Festival Silver Bear and the Taras Shevchenko National Prize in 2017.

Early life and education
Born on 18 July 1965, in the Ukrainian city of Novomoskovsk. In 1993, Koval graduated from the National Academy of Visual Arts and Architecture. Following this, in 1998, he completed her studies at the Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Kary Theatre, Cinema and Television University, specializing as an animated film director.

Career
From 1984 to 1987, Koval worked as a technician-architect in the villages of Krynychky in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and Novomoskovsk. Following this, between 1997 and 2001, he served as a computer artist for TV graphics at the agency VIKNA, and from 2001 to 2005, she worked with the TV company TET. Since 2006, he has held the position of main director at the Novatorfilm studio in Kyiv, where she has been instrumental in leading various creative endeavors and productions.

One of the three most renowned film festivals in the world, the Silver Bear Berlinale, has recognized the short film The Tram Was Going, Number Nine as the first (and thus far, the last) in the history of Ukrainian cinema in 2002. With the help of a group of youthful aficionados and industry professionals, he has been organizing an ambitious multi-episode project called My Country Is Ukraine since 2009. He has held the position of artistic director for the animation project.

Koval claims that making a cartoon takes a lot of work. "In the Soviet era, the system was only constructed, and the artist's job was to simply sit at work for a set length of time and make something."

Political positions
Koval, the creator of Novator studio, expressed to the Kyiv Post that he believed the initial approach required some elements of communist ideology and propaganda. This approach aimed to establish trust in the system before eventually fostering the development of original content. However, he noted the impracticality of addressing broader systemic issues within this framework. According to him, the state began to allocate more funds for feature and animated films since he was awarded the Silver Bear.

Filmography
Koval has made several films:
 * Це -  я (1995)
 * Z-z-z (1998)
 * The Tram Was Going, Number Nine (2002)
 * Zludni (2005)
 * Бійка за печиво (2006)
 * Глінька (2008)
 * Стоп насильство (2009)
 * Стати твердим (2010)
 * Щедрик (2011)
 * My Country Is Ukraine 
 * Народна мудрість (2011)
 * Чаша Ярослава (2011)
 * Чарівна грязюка (2011)
 * Коломия (2011)
 * Чорне озеро (2012)
 * Казочка про місто Борщів (2012)
 * Чорнозем (2013)

Awards and recognitions
In 2017, Koval received the Shevchenko National Prize for his work on the animated series My Country Is Ukraine, for making a substantial impact on both Ukrainian and European animation. Koval has been given the following membership and awards: