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

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 ...

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 ...

, best known for his Soviet-era drama films, including his 1964

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 ...

-themed '' Father of a Soldier''.

Biography

Born in

Kutaisi Kutaisi ( ; ka, ქუთაისი ) is a city in the Imereti region of the Georgia (country), Republic of Georgia. One of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, it is the List o ...

in the family of the writer Davit Chkheidze (he would be executed during the

Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...

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 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 ...

at VGIK 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 ...

from 1949 to 1953. Chkheidze directed twelve films and a TV miniseries between 1953 and 2008. He rose to fame with '' Magdana's Donkey'', co-directed with Tengiz Abuladze, which won the Best Fiction Short award at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. His 1964 film ''Father of a Soldier'' was entered into the 4th Moscow International Film Festival. '' The Saplings'' of 1972 won a diploma at the

8th Moscow International Film Festival The 8th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 10 to 23 July 1973. The Golden Prizes were awarded to the Soviet film '' That Sweet Word: Liberty!'' directed by Vytautas Žalakevičius and the Bulgarian film '' Affection'' directed by ...

. 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 (SSUSSR) was the highest body of state authority of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1936 to 1991. Based on the principle of unified power, it was the only branch of government in the So ...

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 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 ...

(1986), Georgia's Order of Honor (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

* '' Magdana's Donkey'' (1956) * '' Father of a Soldier'' (1964) * '' The Saplings'' (1972)

Filmography

; As director * ''Boris Paichadze'' (1953) * ''In Our Courtyard'' (1956) * ''Maia Tskneteli'' (1959) * ''Treasure'' (1961) * ''Zgvis biliki'' (1962) * '' Father of a Soldier'' (1964) * ''Look at These Young People!'' (1969) * '' The Saplings'' (1972) * ''Earth, This Is Your Son'' (1980) * ''Tskhovreba Don Kikhotisa da Sancho Pansasi'' (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 Pansasi'' (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 Recipients of the Lenin Prize Recipients of the Order of Honor (Georgia)