Grigory Naumovich Chukhray (23 May 192128 October 2001) was a Soviet

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

of Ukrainian origin.

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный арти ...

(1981).Cinema: Encyclopedic Dictionary // main editor Sergei Yutkevich (1987). — Moscow: Soviet Encyclopedia, 640 pages He's the father of the Russian film director

Pavel Chukhray Pavel Grigoryevich Chukhray (; Bykovo, Ramensky District, Moscow Oblast, Bykovo, Moscow Oblast, October 14, 1946) is a Soviet and Russian film director and screenwriter. He is the son of the prominent Russian film director Grigory Chukhray. ...

Early life

Grigory Chukhray was born in

Melitopol Melitopol is a city and municipality in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, southeastern Ukraine. It is situated on the Molochna River, which flows through the eastern edge of the city into the Molochnyi Lyman estuary. Melitopol is the second-largest city ...

(modern-day

Zaporizhzhia Oblast Zaporizhzhia Oblast (), commonly referred to as Zaporizhzhia (), is an oblast (region) in south-east Ukraine. Its administrative centre is the city of Zaporizhzhia. The oblast covers an area of , and has a population of The oblast is an import ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

) to

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

soldiers Naum Zinovievich Rubanov and Claudia Petrovna Chukhray. He was of Ukrainian origin.Grigori Chukrai, ''My Cinema''. Moscow, 2001, 98 p. His parents divorced when he was three years old. He was raised by a stepfather, Pavel Antonovich Litvinenko, the head of

kolkhoz A kolkhoz ( rus, колхо́з, a=ru-kolkhoz.ogg, p=kɐlˈxos) was a form of collective farm in the Soviet Union. Kolkhozes existed along with state farms or sovkhoz. These were the two components of the socialized farm sector that began to eme ...

. His mother Claudia Chukhray took an active part in the

collectivization Collective farming and communal farming are various types of "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member- ...

and

dekulakization Dekulakization (; ) was the Soviet campaign of Political repression in the Soviet Union#Collectivization, political repressions, including arrests, deportations, or executions of millions of supposed kulaks (prosperous peasants) and their familie ...

of the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

, then worked as an investigation officer at

militsiya ''Militsiya'' ( rus, милиция, 3=mʲɪˈlʲitsɨjə, 5=, ) were the police forces in the Soviet Union until 1991, in several Eastern Bloc countries (1945–1992), and in the Non-Aligned Movement, non-aligned Socialist Federal Republic ...

. In 1939, he was drafted to the army. A decorated veteran of

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 ...

, Chukhray's wartime experiences profoundly affected him and the majority of his films. He served in the 229th separate communications battalion of the 134th Infantry Division (later part of the 19th Army). He fought at the Southern,

Stalingrad Volgograd,. geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area o ...

and

Don Front The Don Front was a front of the Soviet Red Army during the Second World War, which existed between September 1942 and February 1943, and was commanded during its entire existence by Konstantin Rokossovsky. The name refers to Don River, Russia. F ...

s. From 1943 on, he served in airborne troops at the

1st First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds, The Second, or (The) 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Minute and second of arc, ...

and

3rd Ukrainian Front The 3rd Ukrainian Front () was a Front of the Soviet Red Army during World War II. It was founded on 20 October 1943, on the basis of a Stavka order of October 16, 1943, by renaming the Southwestern Front. It included 1st Guards Army, 8th Gua ...

s and took part in operation "Dnipro Troopers". He was wounded three times. In 1944, he joined the Communist Party.

Career

At war's end, he studied filmmaking at

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, ...

, the course led by Sergei Yutkevich and

Mikhail Romm Mikhail Ilyich Romm (; – 1 November 1971) was a Soviet film director, screenwriter and pedagogue. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1950. Life and career Early life He was born in Irkutsk into a family of mixed Russian Jewish ...

, and then developed his skills as a director's assistant at the Kiev Film Studio. By the mid-1950s, he began writing and directing his own films at the

Mosfilm Mosfilm (, ''Mosfil’m'' , initialism and portmanteau of Moscow Films) is a film studio in Moscow which is among the largest and oldest in the Russian Federation and in Europe. Founded in 1924 in the USSR as a production unit of that nation's fi ...

studio, gaining cinematic recognition outside the Soviet Union at the 1957

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

with his film '' The Forty-First'' (1956). Chukhray directed and co-wrote '' Ballad of a Soldier'' (1959). Around the themes of love and the tragedy of war, the film received acclaim at home, earning the

Lenin Prize The Lenin Prize (, ) was one of the most prestigious awards of the Soviet Union for accomplishments relating to science, literature, arts, architecture, and technology. It was originally created on June 23, 1925, and awarded until 1934. During ...

. It was heralded internationally for both its story and cinematic technique. At the 1960

it was awarded a special jury prize for "high humanism and outstanding quality." ''Ballad of a Soldier'' premiered in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1960 at the

San Francisco International Film Festival The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by SFFILM, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in international film and vid ...

. The film won the Festival's Golden Gate Award, for Best Picture and for Best Director for Grigory Chukhray. Playing worldwide, the following year, it earned the

BAFTA Award for Best Film The BAFTA Award for Best Film is a film award given annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and presented at the British Academy Film Awards. It has been given since the 1st BAFTA Awards, representing the best films of 19 ...

. Grigory Chukhray and script co-writer Valentin Yezhov were also nominated for the 1961

Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...

. Chukhray's next film was '' Clear Skies'' (1961). It told the story of a Soviet pilot who had survived

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

imprisonment during the war, but was accused of spying. It was one of the first Soviet films to deal with some of the repressive practices under the Soviet leadership of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

. It won the Grand Prix (in a tie with

Kaneto Shindo was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, film producer, and writer, who directed 48 films and wrote scripts for 238. His best known films as a director include '' Children of Hiroshima'', '' The Naked Island'', '' Onibaba'', '' Kuroneko'' a ...

's '' The Naked Island'') at the

2nd Moscow International Film Festival The 2nd Moscow International Film Festival was held from 9 to 23 July 1961. The Grand Prix was shared between the Japanese film '' The Naked Island'' directed by Kaneto Shindo and the Soviet film '' Clear Skies'' directed by Grigori Chukhrai. ...

. Two years later Chukhray served as the president of the jury at the

3rd Moscow International Film Festival The 3rd Moscow International Film Festival was held from 7 to 21 July 1963. The Grand Prix was awarded to the Italian film ''8½'' directed by Federico Fellini. Jury * Grigori Chukhrai (USSR - President of the Jury) * Shaken Ajmanov (USSR) * Se ...

. Between 1966 and 1971, Chukhray headed the director's courses at

. In 1965, he founded and headed the Experimental Studio at Mosfilm that produced such films as ''

White Sun of the Desert ''White Sun of the Desert'' () is a 1970 Soviet Ostern film. Its blend of action comedy, music and drama made it highly successful at the Soviet box-office and resulted in a number of memorable quotes. It retains high domestic approval. Its main ...

'' (1970), ''

The Twelve Chairs ''The Twelve Chairs'' () is a Russian classic satirical picaresque novel by the Soviet authors Ilf and Petrov, published in 1928. Its plot follows characters attempting to obtain jewelry hidden in a chair. A sequel was published in 1931. The ...

'' (1971), '' Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future'' (1973), '' A Slave of Love'' (1976), and other popular movies. He also served as a member of the

State Committee for Cinematography Goskino USSR () is the abbreviated name for the USSR State Committee for Cinematography (Государственный комитет по кинематографии СССР) in the Soviet Union. It was a central state directory body for Sovi ...

between 1964 and 1991. In 1984, Chukhray directed his final Soviet film, together with Yuri Shvyryov: ''I'll Teach You to Dream''. In 1992–1993, he and Rolf Schübel co-directed ''Todfeinde. Vom Sterben und Überleben in Stalingrad'', a joined Russian-Germany documentary in two parts about the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...

. In this film Chukhray as well as other Russian and German survivors told about their experiences during the battle. In 1994, Chukhray was awarded a

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 ...

for his lifetime contribution to cinema.Григорий Наумович Чухрай (1921-2001)
/ref> In 2001, he published two volumes of memoirs entitled ''My War'' and ''My Cinema'', dedicated to his war experience and his work in cinema, respectively. He was married to Iraida Chukhray (née Penkova), a teacher of Russian language and literature. They had two children:

(born 1946), a Russian director, and Elena Chukhray (born 1961), an expert in

film studies Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various film theory, theoretical, history of film, historical, and film criticism, critical approaches to film, cinema as an art form and a medium. It is sometimes subsumed within media stud ...

. Grigory Chukhray died of heart failure in Moscow in 2001 at the age of eighty. He was buried at the

Vagankovo Cemetery Vagankovo Cemetery () is located in the Presnensky District of Moscow, Russia. It was established in 1771, in an effort to curb 1770–1772 Russian plague, an outbreak of bubonic plague in Central Russia. The cemetery was one of those created ou ...

, Moscow.

Awards and honors

* Medal "For the Defence of Stalingrad" (1943) *

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

(1944) * Medal "For the Capture of Vienna" (1945) *

Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Medal "For the Victory Over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union established on May 9, 1945, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to denote military partici ...

(1945) *

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War () is a Soviet Union, Soviet military Order (decoration), decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to Partisan (military), partisans for heroic deeds in the Easte ...

, 2nd class (1945) *

(1961) *Honored Art Worker of the RSFSR (1962) * Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (1965) *

People's Artist of the RSFSR People's Artist of the RSFSR (, ''Narodnyj artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet Union artists, including theatre and film directors, actors, choreographers, music performers, and orchestra conductors, who had outstanding achiev ...

(1969) * Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" (1970) *

Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" () was a state commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established on April 25, 1975, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to denote the thi ...

(1975) *

(1981) *Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class (1985) * Nika Award for the Lifetime Achievement Award (1994) *

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" () is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree 442. Until the re-establishment of the Order of St. Andrew in 1998, it was the highest order of ...

, 4th class (1996) *Three Orders of the Red Banner of Labour

Filmography

Notes

References

External links

*
Ballad of a Film-Director: Grigori Chukhrai
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chukhray, Grigory 1921 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Russian male writers 20th-century Russian screenwriters People from Melitopol Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Academic staff of the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography Academic staff of High Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography alumni Bodil Award winners Nastro d'Argento winners People's Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Lenin Prize Recipients of the Medal of Zhukov Recipients of the Nika Award Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class Recipients of the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class Recipients of the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Personnel of the Soviet Airborne Forces Russian people of Ukrainian descent Russian film directors Russian male screenwriters Soviet film directors Soviet male screenwriters Soviet military personnel of World War II Ukrainian film directors Ukrainian screenwriters Burials at Vagankovo Cemetery