Aksella Luts (born Aksella Hildegard Kapsta; 10 October 1905 – 8 January 2005)Tallinn University Academic Library
(in

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

) was an

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

n actress, screenwriter, dancer, choreographer, film editor and photojournalist.

Early life

Aksella Luts was born Aksella Hildegard Kapsta in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

to Estonian parents Martin and Maria Kapsta (''née'' Mark). She was the middle child of three siblings; her sister Erica Regina was born in 1903 and her brother Alfred was born in 1911. The family returned to Estonia when she was quite young. She attended secondary school in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

, graduating in 1924 before attending dance classes in Tartu and then the Union des Professeurs de Danse de France (UDPDF) in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where she studied

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert dance, concert or theatrical dance which includes dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th ...

. She married Estonian future filmmaker

Theodor Luts Theodor Luts ( in Palamuse – 24 September 1980 in São Paulo) was an Estonian film director and cinematographer, brother of classic writer Oskar Luts. Theodor Luts was the first major figure of Estonian cinematography His '' Noored kotkad'' ...

(younger brother of writer

Oskar Luts Oskar Luts ( – 23 March 1953) was an Estonian writer and playwright. Biography Oskar Luts was born into a middle-class family in Järvepera, central Estonia, at that time in the governorate of Livonia (Russian Empire). His younger brother was ...

) at age 19 and the two opened a dance studio in Tartu.

Film

In 1927, Theodor Luts founded ''Tartu Filmiühing'' (Tartu Film Society) and using the knowledge he had gained from filmmakers in Paris and Berlin, the couple began writing the script for the patriotic silent film ''

Noored kotkad ''Noored kotkad'' (The Young Eagles, released in 1927) is an Estonian silent film about the Estonian War of Independence that was fought between 1918 and 1920. It was filmed in 1927 in Tartu, Mustvee, Värska, and Tartu County. The film was d ...

'' (''Young Eagles''), which was Estonia's first feature-length dramatic historical film. It was financed through a bank loan.''Postimees: Hüvasti, imeline Aksella!''
11 January 2005 The film was a dramatic telling of the

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence, also known as the War of Freedom in Estonia, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Soviet Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919 and the ...

of 1918-1920 and was filmed in Tartu,

Mustvee Mustvee is a town in Estonia. It lies on the west coast of Lake Peipus, and is administratively part of the Mustvee Parish in Jõgeva County. Ethnic Estonians and Russians both make up around half of its current population of approximately 1,60 ...

and

Värska Värska () is a small borough () in Setomaa Parish, Võru County in southeastern Estonia. At the 2021 Census, the settlement's population was 414. It is the most populous village of the Paris History Värska was first mentioned in written sources ...

in the summer of 1927. Theodor directed, acted as cinematographer and had several small roles in the film. Aksella appeared in the film as an actress and was the film's make up artist.Ekspress.ee archive.
September 1996 ''Noored kotkad'' is generally regarded as the cornerstone of Estonian cinema.Culture And Customs of the Baltic States By Kevin O'Connor
/ref> After Theodor made several silent film nature and cultural documentaries for Eesti Kultuurfilm, the couple would co-write the script for the 1932 melodrama ''Päikese lapsed'' (''The Children of the Sun''). The film would be Estonia's first feature-length

Estonian language Estonian ( ) is a Finnic language and the official language of Estonia. It is written in the Latin script and is the first language of the majority of the country's population; it is also an official language of the European Union. Estonian is sp ...

sound film; it was co-produced by

Erkki Karu Erkki Karu (born Erland Fredrik Kumlander) (10 April 1887 – 8 December 1935) was a Finnish film director, screenwriter and producer. He was one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema. Career Karu was born and died in Helsinki. He started his ...

of Finland's

Suomi-Filmi Suomi-Filmi, lit. ''Finland-Film'', is a Finnish film production and distribution company established in 1919 by Erkki Karu. Suomi-Filmi produced around 160 feature-length films and for most of its history was one of the two most important film co ...

and Theodor Lutsu Filmiproduktsioon. Theodor would again direct and Aksella would choreograph a dance routine, while Estonian actor

Ants Eskola Ants Eskola (17 February 190814 December 1989, known until 1935 as Erhard-Voldemar Esperk)Eskola 1986: 7 was a Soviet and Estonian actor, singer and artist. He appeared in 25 films from 1930 to 1979. People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist ...

would have a starring role.

Travel abroad

In 1938, Theodor and Aksella moved to

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, where Theodor hoped to further his education. From 1938 until 1944, Aksella worked as screenwriter under the masculine

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

Antti Metsalu for Fenno-Filmi OY, which was founded by her husband and

Yrjö Norta Yrjö Norta (originally Nyberg, 18 March 1904 – 11 November 1988) was a Finnish film director, screenwriter, editor, cinematographer and sound editor. Occasionally he used the pseudonyms Georg Nyberg and Ilmari Waltamaa. He was also the producti ...

. Many of her scripts from the era were

anti-Soviet Anti-Sovietism or anti-Soviet sentiment are activities that were actually or allegedly aimed against the Soviet Union or government power within the Soviet Union. Three common uses of the term include the following: * Anti-Sovietism in inter ...

in nature. In 1944, the couple moved to

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, where Aksella worked as a librarian and archivist at the Folk Universitetet. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the annexation of Estonia by the Soviet Union, they relocated to the city of São Lourenço near

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

in the

South Region Southern Region or South Region may refer to: * Southern Nigeria * Southern Region (Boy Scouts of America) * Southern Region, Bauchi, Nigeria * South Region, Brazil, an official grouping of states for economic and statistical purposes * Souther ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

.''Eesti filmi andmebaas'': Theodor Luts.
13 June 2007 (in

...

) In Brazil, the couple made a permanent home. Aksella Luts worked primarily with her husband at his new film company ''Theodor Lutsu firma'' as a screenwriter, author of manuscripts, cameraman's assistant, film editor and photojournalist. She was a founding member and secretary of the

Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church The Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (EELC; Estonian: ''Eesti Evangeelne Luterlik Kirik'', abbreviated EELK) is a Lutheran church in Estonia. The EELC is member of the Lutheran World Federation and belongs to the Community of Protestant Ch ...

in São Paulo (''EELK São Paulo Kogudus''), worked as a librarian at the Estonian-Brazilian New Cultural Association (''Eesti-Brasiilia Kultuuriühing Uus''), worked as a film editor at Milo Harbichi Films, and was made an Honorary Member of the Academy of Sciences and Letters of São Lourenço for the introduction of

Estonian culture The culture of Estonia combines an indigenous heritage, represented by the country's Finnic languages, Finnic national language Estonian language, Estonian, with Nordic countries, Nordic and German culture, German cultural aspects. Over the cen ...

to Brazil.

Later years

Following the death of Theodor Luts on 24 September 1980, Aksella remained in Brazil until 1996, when she returned to Estonia and settled in

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of ...

. She gave frequent television and radio interviews and was made an Honorary Member of ''Eesti Kinoliit'' (Estonian Filmmaker's Association). She died in Pärnu in 2005, aged 99, and was cremated. Her ashes were buried next to her husband in São Lourenço, Brazil.

References

External links

* *Image of Aksella Luts a
''Fotis. Rahusarhiivi Fotode Andmebaas''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luts, Aksella 1905 births 2005 deaths Actresses from Tartu People from Moskovsky Uyezd Estonian film actresses Estonian silent film actresses Estonian screenwriters Estonian female dancers Estonian emigrants to Brazil Estonian expatriates in Brazil Estonian film editors 20th-century Estonian actresses Women film editors 20th-century screenwriters Estonian photojournalists Women photojournalists People from São Lourenço, Minas Gerais