Rza Abbasgulu oglu Tahmasib (; 20 April 1894,

Nakhchivan City Nakhchivan ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of the eponymous Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, a true exclave of Azerbaijan, located west of Baku. The municipality of Nakhchivan consists of the city of Nakhchivan, the settlement of Əliab ...

– 14 February 1980,

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 ...

) was an

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

i film director and actor. He also worked as a professor of theatre, and translator of play scripts from Russian into Azeri.

Early life

Tahmasib was born as Rza Tahmasibbeyov to a wealthy merchant family, he was born on 20 April 1894 in

, Russian Empire. He received his primary education at Maktab-i Tarbiyya school in Nakhchivan, where he learned

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

and

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

languages. He continued his education at a three-year Russian school in his hometown. His interest to theatre was invoked by actor

Huseyn Arablinski Huseyn Arablinski (), born Huseynbala Mammad oghlu Khalafov (1881, Baku – 17 March 1919, Baku), was an Azerbaijani actor. Life and career Born to a poor family, Huseyn Arablinski lost his father at a young age. He was sent by his mother to a r ...

who was touring Nakhchivan with his troupe in 1907. In 1910 he left for

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

where he studied at a School of Commerce and joined an amateur actors' club at Shaitan Bazaar.Rza Tahmasib: A Man Who Dealt with His Grief Alone
by J.Tahmasib. ''El Jurnali''. February 2006. Retrieved 28 July 2007 Constantly travelling between Nakhchivan, Tiflis and

Erivan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

, he often participate in both amateur and professional theatre activities in all of the three cities.Directors: Rza Tahmasib
''Azeriart.net'' In 1918, Tahmasib moved to Baku to enter the program of Oriental Studies at the

Azerbaijan State University Baku State University (BSU) (BDU; ) is a public university located in Baku, Azerbaijan. Established on 1 September 1919 by the Parliament of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the university started with faculties of history and philology, physics a ...

. That same year he got married and had a son (who soon died by drowning in the

Volga The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

River), but the marriage did not last long. In his final year of university, Tahmasib switched to the program of Education. In 1933 he was invited by

Sergei Eisenstein Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein; (11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, screenwriter, film editor and film theorist. Considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, he was a pioneer in the theory and practice of montage. He is no ...

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 pursue a degree in film directing at the

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, ...

and accepted the invitation, having been involved in theatre throughout the 1920s. In 1934 he married a widowed primary school teacher and had three more children.

Contributions

In 1943, Tahmasib directed the movie ''Sabuhi'' (1943), a tribute to writer and philosopher

Mirza Fatali Akhundov Mirza Fatali Akhundov, also known as Mirza Fatali Akhundzade, or Mirza Fath-Ali Akhundzadeh (12 July 1812 – 9 March 1878), was a celebrated Iranian Azerbaijanis, Iranian Azerbaijani The Cloth Peddler The Cloth Peddler or Arşın Mal Alan may refer to several Azerbaijani film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emoti ...

", 1945), which was a screen adaptation of

Uzeyir Hajibeyov Uzeyir bey Abdulhuseyn bey oghlu Hajibeyov (18 September 188523 November 1948) was an Azerbaijanis, Azerbaijani composer, musicologist and teacher. He is recognized as the father of Azerbaijani classical music. He composed the music of the Az� ...

's operetta of the

same name ''Same Name'' is an American reality television series in which an average person swaps lives with a celebrity of the same first and last name. It premiered on July 24, 2011 on CBS. The series received low ratings, and CBS pulled it after four-ep ...

, composed in 1913. The film was a success not only in Azerbaijan, but throughout the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. For directing ''Arshin mal alan'', Tahmasib received the Stalin Prize in 1946. In 1947, Tahmasib acquired a Ph.D. degree and taught at the Azerbaijan Institute of Theatre (now Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts). He also translated plays and theatre-related research articles from Russian to Azeri.Rza Tahmasib
''Inoekino.ru'' His other films include ''Bakinin ishiglari'' ("

The Lights of Baku ''The Lights of Baku'' () is a 1950 Soviet drama film directed by Iosif Kheifits, Rza Tahmasib and Aleksandr Zarkhi.Rollberg p.500 The film portrays workers in the oil fields of Azerbaijan during the Second World War, when they were of great strat ...

", 1950, in which Tahmasib himself starred), ''Mahni bela yaranir'' ("A Song Is Created Thus", 1959) and ''Onu baghishlamag olarmi?'' ("Can He Be Forgiven?", 1960).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tahmasib, Rza Azerbaijani film directors Azerbaijani film producers Azerbaijani male film actors Soviet film directors Soviet film producers Soviet male film actors Recipients of the Stalin Prize People's Artistes of the Azerbaijan SSR Soviet Azerbaijani people People from Nakhchivan Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography alumni 1894 births 1980 deaths 20th-century Azerbaijani male actors Burials at II Alley of Honor