Revaz "Rezo" Chkheidze ( ka, რევაზ "რეზო" ჩხეიძე; 8 December 1926 – 3 May 2015) was a Georgian

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. Nomenclature and significan ...

, best known for his Soviet-era drama films, including his 1964 World War II-themed ''

Father of a Soldier ''Father of a Soldier'' ( ka, ჯარისკაცის მამა translit. ''jariskats'is mama'', russian: Отец солдата, Otets soldata) is a 1964 Georgian black-and-white World War II-themed drama film directed by Revaz C ...

''.

Biography

Born in

Kutaisi Kutaisi (, ka, ქუთაისი ) is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and the third-most populous city in Georgia, traditionally, second in importance, after the capital city of Tbilisi. Situated west of Tbilis ...

in the family of the writer Davit Chkheidze (he would be executed during the Great Purge in 1937), Chkheidze studied acting at Tbilisi State Institute of Theatre from 1943 to 1946 and continued his education under Sergei Yutkevich and Mikhail Romm at VGIK in Moscow from 1949 to 1953. Chkheidze directed twelve films and a TV miniseries between 1953 and 2008. He rose to fame with ''

Magdana's Donkey ''Magdana's Donkey'' ( ka, მაგდანას ლურჯა, Magdanas Lurja, russian: Лурджа Магданы, Lurja magdani) is a 1955 Georgian black-and-white social-themed drama film co-directed by Revaz Chkheidze and Tengiz Abuladz ...

'', co-directed with Tengiz Abuladze, which won the Best Fiction Short award at the

1956 Cannes Film Festival The 9th Cannes Film Festival was held from 23 April to 10 May 1956. The Palme d'Or went to ''The Silent World'' by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Louis Malle. The festival opened with ''Marie-Antoinette reine de France'', directed by Jean Delannoy and ...

. His 1964 film ''Father of a Soldier'' was entered into the

4th Moscow International Film Festival The 4th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 5 to 20 July 1965. The Grand Prix was shared between the Soviet film ''War and Peace'' directed by Sergei Bondarchuk and the Hungarian film ''Twenty Hours'' directed by Zoltán Fábri. Jur ...

. ''

The Saplings ''The Saplings'' (russian: Саженцы, Sazhentsy, ka, ნერგები, Nergebi) is a 1972 Soviet comedy film directed by Rezo Chkheidze. It was entered into the 8th Moscow International Film Festival where Ramaz Chkhikvadze won the aw ...

'' of 1972 won a diploma at the 8th Moscow International Film Festival. During the Soviet era, Chkheidze was a Communist Party member and also served as secretary of Georgian SSR Union of Cinematography, then a top decision-making body in the field, from 1963 to 1981. Also, he was twice elected to the

Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Верховный Совет Союза Советских Социалистических Республик, r=Verkhovnyy Sovet Soyuza Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respubl ...

in 1974 and 1979. He was appointed executive director of Georgia's Kartuli Pilmi studio in 1973, a position he held, intermittently, into the 1990s. Among Chkheidze's awards and accolades were the title of People’s Artist of the Soviet Union (1980), All-Union Film Festival Prize (1973, 1981), Lenin Prize (1986), Georgia's

Order of Honor Order of Honor may refer to: *Order of Honour (Armenia) *Order of Honor (Belarus), established in 1995 * Order of Honor (Georgia) *Order of Honour (Greece), an award that replaced the abolished Royal Order of George I in 1975 *Order of Honour (Moldo ...

(1996), and Honorary Citizenship of Tbilisi (2001). A star in his honor was opened by Georgia's Ministry of Culture in front of the Rustaveli Cinema in Tbilisi in 2013. Revaz Chkheidze died on 3 May 2015. He was buried on 7 May at the Didube Pantheon in Tbilisi. Chkheidze's daughter Tamar (b. 1960) is a historian and former Soviet-era dissident who was active in Georgia's politics in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (1956) * ''

'' (1964) * ''

'' (1972)

Filmography

; As director * ''Boris Paichadze'' (1953) * ''In Our Courtyard'' (1956) * ''Maia Tskneteli'' (1959) * ''Treasure'' (1961) * ''Zgvis biliki'' (1962) * ''

'' (1964) * ''Look at These Young People!'' (1969) * ''

'' (1972) * ''Earth, This Is Your Son'' (1980) * ''Tskhovreba Don Kikhotisa da Sancho Panchosi'' (1988) (TV Mini-Series) * ''Matskhovris Saplavze Antebuli Santeli'' (2008) ; As writer * ''Qeratmiani qalishvili'' (1968) (TV Short) * ''Earth, This Is Your Son'' (1980) * ''Tskhovreba Don Kikhotisa da Sancho Panchosi'' (1988) (TV Mini-Series) * ''Matskhovris Saplavze Antebuli Santeli'' (2008)

References

External links

*
Revaz Chkheidze
on Georgian National Filmography
Revaz Chkheidze
on Kinoglaz {{DEFAULTSORT:Chkheidze, Rezo 1926 births 2015 deaths Film directors from Georgia (country) Soviet film directors People from Kutaisi People's Artists of Georgia Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Lenin Prize winners Recipients of the Order of Honor (Georgia)