Yakov Alexandrovich Protazanov (Russian: Я́ков Алекса́ндрович Протаза́нов; January 23 (O.S. February 4), 1881 – August 8, 1945) was a Russian and Soviet film director and screenwriter, and one of the founding fathers of cinema of Russia.In the period from 1911 to 1918 he directed some 80 features, including The Queen of Spades (1916) and Father Sergius (1917), which have been acclaimed as his masterpieces.