Arsha Amartsumovna Ovanesova (, ; 23 December 1906 – 6 May 1990) was a Soviet Armenian documentary film director, screenplay writer, actress, and educator.

Biography

Arsha Ovanesova was born in either

Shusha Shusha (, ) or Shushi () is a city in Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Situated at an altitude of 1,400–1,800 metres (4,600–5,900 ft) in the Karabakh mountains, the city was a mountain resort in the Soviet Union, Soviet ...

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. At the age of 13, her mother died. From 1918 to 1919, she lived in

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

to escape the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

and the

Islamic Army of the Caucasus The Islamic Army of the Caucasus (; Turkish: ''Kafkas İslâm Ordusu'') (also translated as ''Caucasian Army of Islam'' in some sources) was a military unit of the Ottoman Empire formed on July 10, 1918. The Ottoman Minister of War, Enver Pasha ...

; followed by a moved in 1920 to Baku. She attended

Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography 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, ...

(VGIK) from 1926 to 1932, where she graduated from. From 1931 to 1961, Ovanesova was a director at the Soyuzkinohronika (now Russian Central Studio of Documentary Films). She helped found , as well as serving as the director and editor of the filmed newsreel from 1931 to 1946. Her film ''Unusual Encounters'' (1958) traces the lives of the people in the early publication of ''Pioneer,'' spanning 20 years. She taught film at Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, starting in 1947. In 1943, she became a member of the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

(CPSU). She became a Honored Art Worker of the RSFSR (1947). In 1950 she received the Stalin Prize and the International Peace Prize. She died on May 6, 1990, and is buried at

Troyekurovskoye Cemetery The Troyekurovo Cemetery (), alternatively known as ''Novo-Kuntsevo Cemetery'' (), is a cemetery in Moscow, Russia. The cemetery is located in the former village of Troyekurovo on the western edge of Moscow, which derives its name from the Troye ...

in Moscow. Ovanesova was married to cameraman , who survived her.

Filmography

Writer

* 1949, ''World Youth Festival'' (; ) * 1954, '' The Secret of Mountain Lake'' ()

Director

* 1940, ''Pioneer Truth'' () * 1946, ''A Story About Our Children'' () * 1948, ''30 Years of the Komsomol'' () * 1949, ''World Youth Festival'' (), a documentary about the

World Festival of Youth and Students The World Festival of Youth and Students is an international event organized by the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) and the International Union of Students after 1947. History The festival has been held occasionally since 1947, mainl ...

event. * 1958, ''Unusual Encounters'' ()

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ovanesova, Arsha 1906 births 1990 deaths 20th-century Armenian actresses Actors from Shusha Film people from Baku Academic staff of the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography alumni Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Recipients of the Order of the Badge of Honour Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Stalin Prize Armenian film actresses Armenian screenwriters Armenian women film directors Soviet Armenians Soviet film actresses Soviet screenwriters Soviet women screenwriters Soviet women film directors Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery Armenian film directors