Nina Wolmark
Description
Nina Wolmark is a French author, screenwriter, and dialogue writer, recognized as a key creative force in European animated television series during the 1980s. She was born in 1941 in Minsk, then part of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, to parents who were fleeing the invasion of Poland. Her father was the sculptor Nathan Rapoport, and her mother was a costumier named Sima. After the war, the family returned to Warsaw before settling in Paris in July 1947.
Wolmark's professional background is diverse. She earned degrees in Economic Sciences and Labor Sociology and began her career in publishing, working for Jean-Jacques Pauvert. She also worked as a journalist, conducted corporate reporting, organized film shoots, and was involved in post-production and documentary commentary. Notably, she created the youth programming production department for the Hachette Group. In 1979, she became a member of the Société des auteurs et compositeurs dramatiques, later becoming a full member in 1990.
Wolmark is best known as the co-creator of the influential science-fiction animated series Ulysses 31. In 1980, together with Jean Chalopin, she developed the original idea and co-wrote the screenplay and dialogue for the 26-episode series, which first aired in 1981. Chalopin described her as having enormous literary knowledge, functioning as a "screenwriter-documentalist" who provided the mythological and narrative foundation for their stories; she is specifically credited with introducing the myth of Sisyphus into the series. The show became an international success, broadcasting across Europe, America, and Asia.
Following the success of Ulysses 31, Wolmark created her own series, Les Mondes engloutis (known in English as Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea), which ran for 52 episodes from 1985 to 1987. She served as its author and artistic production delegate, while she and her husband, Gilbert Wolmark, were the delegated producers. In 1987, she adapted the famous French comic book Rahan, fils des âges farouches into an animated series, acting as adaptor and artistic production delegate for the 26-episode show.
Beyond her work in television, Wolmark has been a lyricist for several songs, often with music composed by Vladimir Cosma. She wrote the lyrics for the theme songs of Les Mondes engloutis and Rahan, fils des âges farouches. In 2019, she wrote new lyrics for "L'hymne de la vie," a cover of The Undersea World theme performed by the group Kids United for their gold-certified album of the same name. She also co-authored, with Jean Chalopin and Évelyne Lallemand, a series of novelizations of her animated works, published in the Bibliothèque rose collection.
Her contributions have been publicly recognized. She is a Chevalier in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In 2017, she was chosen to sponsor a cartography competition, and in 2020, a theatrical performance titled La Vie animée de Nina W., inspired by her unpublished autobiography Anna ou la mémoire de l'eau, was created by Séverine Coulon.
Wolmark's professional background is diverse. She earned degrees in Economic Sciences and Labor Sociology and began her career in publishing, working for Jean-Jacques Pauvert. She also worked as a journalist, conducted corporate reporting, organized film shoots, and was involved in post-production and documentary commentary. Notably, she created the youth programming production department for the Hachette Group. In 1979, she became a member of the Société des auteurs et compositeurs dramatiques, later becoming a full member in 1990.
Wolmark is best known as the co-creator of the influential science-fiction animated series Ulysses 31. In 1980, together with Jean Chalopin, she developed the original idea and co-wrote the screenplay and dialogue for the 26-episode series, which first aired in 1981. Chalopin described her as having enormous literary knowledge, functioning as a "screenwriter-documentalist" who provided the mythological and narrative foundation for their stories; she is specifically credited with introducing the myth of Sisyphus into the series. The show became an international success, broadcasting across Europe, America, and Asia.
Following the success of Ulysses 31, Wolmark created her own series, Les Mondes engloutis (known in English as Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea), which ran for 52 episodes from 1985 to 1987. She served as its author and artistic production delegate, while she and her husband, Gilbert Wolmark, were the delegated producers. In 1987, she adapted the famous French comic book Rahan, fils des âges farouches into an animated series, acting as adaptor and artistic production delegate for the 26-episode show.
Beyond her work in television, Wolmark has been a lyricist for several songs, often with music composed by Vladimir Cosma. She wrote the lyrics for the theme songs of Les Mondes engloutis and Rahan, fils des âges farouches. In 2019, she wrote new lyrics for "L'hymne de la vie," a cover of The Undersea World theme performed by the group Kids United for their gold-certified album of the same name. She also co-authored, with Jean Chalopin and Évelyne Lallemand, a series of novelizations of her animated works, published in the Bibliothèque rose collection.
Her contributions have been publicly recognized. She is a Chevalier in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In 2017, she was chosen to sponsor a cartography competition, and in 2020, a theatrical performance titled La Vie animée de Nina W., inspired by her unpublished autobiography Anna ou la mémoire de l'eau, was created by Séverine Coulon.
Works
- Topics: Anime overview