Arthur Groys is a film director and scriptwriter from Moscow, Russia. He is in Ithaca as an Artist Protection Fund Fellow in residence at Ithaca College and Ithaca City of Asylum (ICOA).

Arthur has written for and directed several popular TV and radio shows for children and family audiences in Russia. From 2009 to 2022, he was one of the directors and scriptwriters of “Yeralash” (Topsy-Turvy), a long-running sketch comedy show for children that has been seen on screens across the former Soviet Union for half a century. He has also been an actor, puppeteer, stage director, and instructor for young and adult actors.

Arthur studied classical Russian drama and puppetry and has written plays for children and teenagers that have been staged in Russia and abroad. He has also written books of comedic and fantastic poetry, sketches, stories, and novels for children and teenagers. Arthur speaks several languages and often performs in English or French.

In 2022, with the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine War and ongoing political turbulence in Russia, he was awarded a prestigious Artist Protection Fund Fellowship, and subsequently fled to Israel, where he was granted the designation of Distinguished Artist. While in Israel, he worked on stage plays and puppetry productions and took part in literary and arts activities with Russian-speaking children and teenagers.

Arthur is a graduate of Moscow State University in Russia, Coventry University in the UK, and the Russian State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK). He has studied filmmaking at the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles and taken courses in scriptwriting, modern languages, area studies, and video broadcast journalism.

About the Artist Protection Fund

An initiative of the Institute of International Education, the Artist Protection Fund (IIE-APF) fills a critical unmet need by protecting threatened artists and placing them at welcoming host institutions in safe countries where they can continue their work and plan their futures. IIE-APF places these artists in safe havens for a full year and provides fellowship funding, mentoring, and inclusion in a comprehensive network of artistic and social support.