Aleksei Yefimovich Uchitel (; born 31 August 1951) is a Russian film director. In 2002, he received the title

People's Artist of Russia People's Artist of the Russian Federation (, ''Narodnyy artist Rossiyskoy Federatsii''), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the Russian Federation, is an honorary and the highest title awarded to citizens of the Russian Federation ...

Life and career

Uchitel was born on 31 August 1951 in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

to the family of documentary filmmaker Yefim Uchitel. In 1975, he graduated from

VGIK The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, officially the S. A. Gerasimov All-Russian University of Cinematography (, meaning ''All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov''), a.k.a. VGIK, is a film school in Moscow, ...

, worked at the Leningrad studio of documentary films. In 1990, he founded his film studio "Rock". Uchitel's directorial debut was the film '' Gisele's Mania''. In 2000, he received the

Nika Award The Nika Award (sometimes styled NIKA Award) is the main annual national film award in Russia, presented by the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Science, and seen as the national equivalent of the Oscars. In 2022 nominees were announced, b ...

, the

Kinotavr Kinotavr (), also known as the Sochi Open Russian Film Festival was an open film festival held in the resort city of Sochi, Russia annually in June since 1991, until it was cancelled in the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.Crystal Globe nomination for '' His Wife's Diary''. The film was about the last love affair of

Ivan Bunin Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin ( or ; rus, Ива́н Алексе́евич Бу́нин, p=ɪˈvan ɐlʲɪkˈsʲejɪvʲɪdʑ ˈbunʲɪn, a=Ivan Alyeksyeyevich Bunin.ru.vorb.oga; – 8 November 1953)The Stroll'' was entered into the 25th Moscow International Film Festival. His 2005 film '' Dreaming of Space'' won the Golden George at the 27th Moscow International Film Festival. In 2006, he was a member of the jury at the 28th Moscow International Film Festival. His 2010 film ''

The Edge David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is a British-Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing vocalist o ...

'' was selected as the Russian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the

83rd Academy Awards The 83rd Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2010 in the United States and took place on February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, be ...

but it did not make the final shortlist. His film '' Break Loose'' was selected to be screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the

2013 Toronto International Film Festival The 38th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 5 and 15, 2013. ''The Fifth Estate (film), The Fifth Estate'' was selected as the opening film and ''Life of Crime (film), Life o ...

. The romantic drama '' Matilda'' directed by Uchitel about the relationship between ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya and

Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...

was released on 23 October 2017. The picture became controversial after State Duma deputy

Natalia Poklonskaya Natalia Vladimirovna Poklonskaya (born 18 March 1980) is a Ukrainian-born Russian lawyer. She has served as the adviser to the Prosecutor-General of Russia, Prosecutor General of Russia since 14 June 2022. Poklonskaya was a Ukrainian prosecutor ...

led a campaign to ban the film on religious grounds.

Personal life

In 1981, Uchitel married Kira Saksaganskaya. They have a son. The couple separated without formally filing for divorce. For many years, Uchitel had an affair with the Russian actress Yulia Peresild, with whom he has two daughters, Anna (born 2009) and Maria (born 2012). In 2021, Peresild announced that she had broken up with him.

Selected filmography

*''Rock'' (1987) *''Last Hero. Victor Tsoi. '' (1992) *'' Gisele's Mania'' (1996) *'' His Wife's Diary'' (2000) *'' The Stroll'' (2003) *'' Dreaming of Space'' (2005) *'' Captive'' (2008) *''

'' (2010) *'' Break Loose'' (2013) *'' Matilda'' (2017) *'' Tsoi'' (2020)

References

External links

* * 1951 births Living people Soviet film directors Russian film directors Russian Jews Academic staff of the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) People's Artists of Russia Recipients of the Lenin Komsomol Prize Soviet documentary film directors Recipients of the Nika Award Academicians of the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Sciences "Nika" Honored Workers of the Arts Industry of the Russian Federation {{Russia-film-director-stub