Artkino Pictures Inc was the official distributor of Soviet features, shorts, documentaries, and newsreels in both North and South America from 1940 through 1980. It was the successor to Amkino Corporation, founded in 1927 and official distributor of Soviet films in the United States through February 1940. Artkino ceased operations when there became sufficient interest in Soviet films to warrant their release by any number of commercial American distributors.