Vladimir Yakovlevich Motyl (; 26 June 1927 – 21 February 2010) was a

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 ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

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 ...

.Владимир Яковлевич Мотыль
/ref> Vladimir Motyl was born in

Lepiel Lyepyel or Lepel (; , ; ; ) is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus, located near Lyepyel Lake on the Vuła (river), Vula River. It serves as the administrative center of Lyepyel District. Its population in the 1998 census was 19,400. As of 2024, i ...

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. His father was a Polish émigré, who was arrested in 1930 and sent to Solovki and died there the following year. Many of his other relatives suffered similar treatment. Vladimir and his mother were exiled to the Northern

Urals The Ural Mountains ( ),; , ; , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range in Eurasia that runs north–south mostly through Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the river Ural (river), Ural and northwestern Kazakhstan.

, where he became fascinated in theatre and cinema, and later graduated from the Sverdlovsk Theatrical Institute. For about 10 years he worked in various theatres in the Urals and

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

and eventually became chief director of Sverdlovsk Young Spectator's Theatre. He decided to start afresh in cinema, despite having no technical qualifications. Eventually he directed his first film, ''Children of

Pamirs The Pamir Mountains are a range of mountains between Central Asia and South Asia. They are located at a junction with other notable mountains, namely the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, Hindu Kush and the Himalaya mountain ranges. They are among ...

'' (1963) (''Detyi Pamira/Дети Памира'') in

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

. This work was met with public success, as well as earning him the State Prize of

Tajik SSR The Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic, also commonly known as Soviet Tajikistan, the Tajik SSR, TaSSR, or simply Tajikistan, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union which existed from 1929 to 1991 in Central Asia. The Tajik Re ...

(1964), and the

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

of honorary citizen of

Dushanbe Dushanbe is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 1,564,700, with this population being largely Tajiks, Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe, and from 1929 to 1961 as St ...

(1977). His next film '' Zhenya, Zhenechka and Katyusha'' (1967) (''Женя, Женечка и "Катюша"''), a romantic comedy/drama set in 1944, was warmly accepted by the public as well, but earned the displeasure of the Soviet

agitprop Agitprop (; from , portmanteau of ''agitatsiya'', "agitation" and ''propaganda'', "propaganda") refers to an intentional, vigorous promulgation of ideas. The term originated in the Soviet Union where it referred to popular media, such as literatu ...

for "disrespectful" treatment of the

Second World War 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 ...

theme, and the director fell into disfavor. Nevertheless, he was invited to direct a film which was to become one of the most popular Soviet cult films, the " Red Western" (or technically, " Ostern") '' White Sun of the Desert''. Notably, this film has a strong theme about exile, as its protagonist, Sukhov finds himself waylaid in Central Asia when trying to return home. For his work, Motyl received numerous awards.

Filmography

*1963: ''Children of

'' (''Дети Памира''), film director *1967: '' Zhenya, Zhenechka and Katyusha'' (''Женя, Женечка и Катюша''), playwright, film director *1969: '' White Sun of the Desert'' (''Белое солнце пустыни''), film director *1975: '' The Captivating Star of Happiness'' (''Звезда пленительного счастья'') (the title is a line from a verse by Pushkin), playwright, film director *1980: ''

Forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

'' (''Лес''), playwright, film director *1984: ''Unbelievable Bet'' (''Невероятное пари''), film director *1987: ''My Best Respects'' (''Честь имею''), playwright *1991: ''Let's Part while we're alright'' (''Расстанемся, пока хорошие''), playwright, film director *1993: ''Okhlamon'' (''Охламон''), playwright, play director *1996: ''Nesut menya koni'' (''Несут меня кони''), playwright, film director, music for the songs *2009: ''Crimson Colour of the Snowfall'' (''Багровый цвет снегопада''), playwright, film director, music for the songs

Awards

*1996: Order of Honour for the film ''White Sun of the Desert'' *1998:

State Prize of the Russian Federation The State Prize of the Russian Federation, officially translated in Russia as Russian Federation National Award, is a state honorary prize established in 1992 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. In 2004 the rules for selection of laureates ...

category Literature and Arts for year 1997, for the film ''White Sun of the Desert'' *2003:

Honorary title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

of People's Artist of Russian Federation

Death

On 5 February 2010, Vladimir Motyl was at home alone when he felt ill. On the same day he was hospitalized in the city clinical hospital No. 67. Initially, he was suspected of a stroke, but in the hospital doctors found a fracture of the cervical vertebrae and pneumonia.Известный режиссёр Владимир Мотыль скончался в воскресенье в Москве
/ref> On 21 February 2010 at approximately 11 pm Vladimir Motyl died at the age of 83.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Motyl, Vladimir 1927 births 2010 deaths People from Lyepyel Belarusian Jews Russian people of Belarusian descent Russian Jews Soviet Jews Belarusian film directors Soviet film directors Academic staff of High Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors Belarusian people of Polish descent People's Artists of Russia Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) Ural State University alumni