Slava Tsukerman

Vladislav “Slava” Mendelevich Tsukerman (Russian: Сла́ва (Владисла́в Менделе́вич) Цукерма́н; March 9, 1940 – March 2, 2026) was a Russian film director of Jewish origin. He was born in the Soviet Union and emigrated in 1973 with his wife Nina Kerova to Israel. In 1976 he moved to New York City. He is best known for producing, directing, and writing the screenplay for the 1982 cult film Liquid Sky. He also directed the 2004 documentary Stalin’s Wife (about Nadezhda Alliluyeva) and the 2008 film Perestroika. Today, he resides in New York City with his wife and producing partner Nina Kerova.

In the 1960s he studied at the Moscow Institute of Civil Engineering (MISI), where he began creating. Tsukerman made his first film at 21 years of age, titled I Believe in Spring. It was the first independent short fiction film in Soviet history. It won first prize at the All-Union Festival of Amateur Films in Moscow. It went on to win a prize at the Montreal World Film Festival. In the 1970s he immigrated to Israel and worked for Israeli television. There, he filmed a documentary titled Once Upon a Time There Were Russians in Jerusalem. The film won Best Documentary and Best Director at The World Television Film Festival in Hollywood.