Tengiz Evgenis dze Abuladze,

romanized In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...

: (31 January 19246 March 1994) was a Georgian film director, screenwriter, theatre teacher and

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 ...

. He is regarded as one of the best

Soviet 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 ...

directors.

Biography

Abuladze studied theatre direction (1943–1946) at the Shota Rustaveli Theatre Institute, Tbilisi,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, and filmmaking at the VGIK (All-Union State Institute of Cinematography) in Moscow. He graduated from VGIK in 1952 and in 1953 he joined Gruziya-film (Georgia Film Studios) as a director. He was awarded the title of

in 1980. His first film, '' Magdana's Donkey'' (1956), which he directed with Rezo Chkheidze, won the "Best Fiction Short" award at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. He is most famous for his film trilogy: '' The Plea'' (''The Supplication'') (1968), '' The Wishing Tree'' (1977), and ''

Repentance Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past or present wrongdoings, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better. In modern times, it is generally seen ...

'' (1984, released 1987), which won him 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 ...

(1988) and the first Nika Award for Best Picture. ''Repentance'' won the Special Jury Prize at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival. In 1987 he was a member of the jury at the 15th Moscow International Film Festival. Abuladze came to prominence in the Soviet Union under perestroika when his banned film ''Repentance'', a blistering expose of the Stalinist terror, was released in 1986. ''

'' revolves around the death of an old tyrant, Varlam Aravidze, and the refusal of a woman, Ketevan Barateli, to leave his corpse in peace. She repeatedly disinters the corpse and at the trial disinters also the forbidden secrets of the past. Aravidze is universalised as

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

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 ...

, but most obviously as Stalin's fellow Georgian Lavrentiy Beria.

Film career

Returning to Tbilisi with his fellow Georgian Revaz Chkheidze, Abuladze joined the Gruziafilm studios and together they began their career making documentary films about their country's folklore. In 1955 they made their first non-documentary film, '' Magdana's Donkey'', which won the Best Short Film award at Cannes in 1956. Abuladze's next work was the feature-length '' Other People's Children'' (1958), a psychological portrait of life in Tbilisi. This was followed by '' Me, Grandma, Iliko and Ilarion'' (1962), a tragicomedy of morals in a mountain village, and the lyrical comedy '' A Necklace for My Beloved'' (1973). Abuladze's reputation is, however, based on a trilogy of films that deal with fundamental questions of good and evil, love and hate, life and death. The first of these, '' The Plea'' (1968), was inspired by the

poems Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

of Vazha-Pshavela and shot in black-and-white against the severe Georgian landscape familiar from other films of the time. The second film in the trilogy, '' The Wishing Tree'' (1971), was an epic tale set in the same landscape and focusing on the hopes and reveries of a young woman and a man's search for the mythical tree that will make dreams come true. ''The Wishing Tree'' won festival prizes in Moscow,

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

and Italy, and was awarded the State Prize of the

Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Georgia, the Georgian SSR, or simply Georgia, was one of the republics of the Soviet Union from its second occupation (by the Red Army) in 1921 to its independence in 1991. Cotermin ...

. From 1974 Abuladze taught at the Rustaveli Institute from which he had graduated three decades earlier. In 1978 Abuladze joined 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 ...

, a normal career move at that time and in that context. In 1980 he was awarded the title People's Artist of the USSR. By now he was one of the leading Soviet Georgian filmmakers. On the surface, he was the perfect example of the Soviet cultural nomenklatura. Then in 1983–84 he made ''

'', the film (made for Georgian television) that was to catapult him to worldwide attention. Like so many other films of the "period of stagnation", ''Repentance'' was left "on the shelf". So fearful was Abuladze that his film would be destroyed that he is reputed to have kept the only remaining copy under his bed. When

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

and

glasnost ''Glasnost'' ( ; , ) is a concept relating to openness and transparency. It has several general and specific meanings, including a policy of maximum openness in the activities of state institutions and freedom of information and the inadmissi ...

arrived and the old guard in the Soviet filmmakers' union was unanimously ejected in 1986, a Conflict Commission was established to review these shelved films. With encouragement from the then-Soviet Foreign Minister,

Eduard Shevardnadze Eduard Ambrosis dze Shevardnadze ( ka, ედუარდ ამბროსის ძე შევარდნაძე; 25 January 1928 – 7 July 2014) was a Soviet and Georgian politician and diplomat who governed Georgia (country), Georgi ...

, ''Repentance'' was released, first in Georgia and then across the Soviet Union, where it attracted record audiences and became the flagship film of the whole glasnost process.

Filmography

Tengiz Abuladze made 12 films during his career. Five of them were documentaries and seven were fiction. His final film was going to be about Galaktion Tabidze and

Ilia Chavchavadze Tavadi, Tavadi (Prince) Ilia Chavchavadze ( ka, ილია ჭავჭავაძე; 27 October 1837 – 12 September 1907) was a Georgians, Georgian journalist, publisher, writer and poet who spearheaded the revival of Georgian nationalism ...

, but it remained unfinished.

Notes

References

External links

*
Tengiz Abuladze
The Dictionary of Georgian National Biography. Retrieved 30 January 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Abuladze, Tengiz Film directors from Georgia (country) Soviet film directors 1924 births People from Kutaisi 1994 deaths Burials at Didube Pantheon People's Artists of the USSR Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic Recipients of the Lenin Prize Recipients of the Nika Award Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Rustaveli Prize winners David di Donatello winners Male screenwriters from Georgia (country) Screenwriters from Georgia (country) Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography alumni 20th-century screenwriters