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Otar Iosseliani
Georgian-film maker (born 1934)

Otar Iosseliani was a Georgian film director, known for movies such as Falling Leaves, Pastorale and Favorites of the Moon. Iosseliani received a lifetime achievement honor – the CineMerit Award [de] at the Munich International Film Festival in 2011 for his career accomplishments.

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Early life

He was born in the Georgian capital city of Tbilisi, where he studied at the Tbilisi State Conservatoire and graduated in 1952 with a diploma in composition, conducting and piano.1

In 1953 he went to Moscow to study mathematics at the University of Moscow, but two years into his studies he transitioned to the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) where his teachers included many early Soviet filmmakers such as Alexander Dovzhenko, Lev Kuleshov, Mikhail Romm, Grigori Kozintsev and Mikhail Chiaureli.2

Film career

While studying at the VGIK, Iosseliani also began work as an assistant director and editor at the Georgian Film Studio (Gruziafilm).3 Iosseliani directed his first short film, Akvarel, in 1958 while a student at the VGIK. He graduated from VGIK in 1961, with a diploma in film direction.4

His next film Aprili (1961) was initially denied theatrical distribution, until being finally released in 1972. Iosseliani briefly abandoned filmmaking in 1963–1965 when he worked on a fishing boat and then at the Rustavi metallurgical factory.5 In 1966 he directed his first feature film Falling Leaves (Giorgobistve). Falling Leaves was presented at the Critics' Week at the 1968 Cannes Film Festival and won a FIPRESCI award there.67 His 1982 film Pastorale was initially delayed and then only given a limited release in the Soviet Union. Iosseliani grew sceptical about getting any artistic freedom in his homeland. Disillusioned with the creative suppression of filmmakers in his native country, and following Pastorali's success at the 1982 Berlin Film Festival, he eventually left the Soviet Union, settling in France in 1982.8 His subsequent movies were sometimes critical of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Soviet Union.9

Following Pastorale's success at the 1982 Berlin Film Festival, the director made Les Favoris de la Lune (Favourites of the Moon) in 1984. The film was distinguished with a Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival.10

After the initial success of Favorites of the Moon in 1984, the Venice Film Festival became a showcase for many of his subsequent films.11 In 1989 he again received a Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival for And Then There Was Light (Et la Lumière Fut) and in 1992 the Pasinetti Award for Best Direction for Chasing Butterflies (La Chasse Aux Papillons).121314 After the dissolution of the Soviet Union he continued to work in France where he made the documentary Georgia, Alone (Seule, Géorgie) (1994) which was followed by the sardonic and allegorical Brigands (Brigands – Chapitre VII) (1996).1516

In 1986 he was a member of the jury at the 36th Berlin International Film Festival17 and in 1995 he was a member of the jury at the 19th Moscow International Film Festival.18

In 1999, he won the Louis Delluc Prize in France for his film Farewell, Home Sweet Home. He acted in the film, portraying the optimistic, alcoholic husband and father.19

In 2011 his film Chantrapas was selected as the Georgian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards,20 but it did not make the final shortlist.21

In 2011 Otar Iosseliani received a lifetime achievement honor – the CineMerit Award [de] at the Munich International Film Festival. It was given by his former pupil, the Georgian filmmaker Dito Tsintsadze.2223

In 2023, in a retrospective review of his long career, with his films spanning seven decades, Ronald Bergan of The Guardian stated: "His self-described 'abstract comedies' are understated and incisive explorations of human absurdity, always faithful to his idiosyncratic vision, and discarding any kind of cohesive narrative." Regarding his unconventional directorial style and character development, Bergan stated: "Iosseliani observed his characters through behaviour rather than dialogue. His use of sound and silence, and his complex movements of people, animals and objects made him the true heir to Jean Renoir, Jacques Tati and Luis Buñuel."24

Death

Iosseliani died on 17 December 2023, at the age of 89.25 His death was announced by his longtime friend, photographer Yuri Rost. After news of his death, Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili described Iosseliani as an "honoured figure" of Georgian art.26

Filmography

References

  1. Peter Rollberg (2009). Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema. US: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 290–292. ISBN 978-0-8108-6072-8. 978-0-8108-6072-8 ↩

  2. Front, Celluloid Liberation (9 August 2013). "Home Sweet Homeless: The Harmonious Dissonance of Otar Iosseliani". Cinema Scope. https://cinema-scope.com/cinema-scope-online/home-sweet-homeless-the-harmonious-dissonance-of-otar-iosseliani/ ↩

  3. "Otar Iosseliani". BeOpenFuture. https://beopenfuture.com/community/otar-iosseliani/ ↩

  4. "Otar Iosseliani". BeOpenFuture. https://beopenfuture.com/community/otar-iosseliani/ ↩

  5. "Otar Iosseliani". BeOpenFuture. https://beopenfuture.com/community/otar-iosseliani/ ↩

  6. "Falling Leaves". https://www.rawwine.com/learn/event-falling-leaves/ ↩

  7. Grenall, Robert (17 December 2023). "Film director Otar Iosseliani dies aged 89". BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67743328 ↩

  8. Grenall, Robert (17 December 2023). "Film director Otar Iosseliani dies aged 89". BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67743328 ↩

  9. "Georgian film-maker Otar Iosseliani dies at 89". The Guardian. 17 December 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/dec/18/otar-iosseliani-georgian-filmmaker-died-89-cause-of-death ↩

  10. "Georgian Filmmaker Otar Iosseliani Dies At 89". www.barrons.com. https://www.barrons.com/news/georgian-filmmaker-otar-iosseliani-dies-at-89-a21920ca ↩

  11. Grenall, Robert (17 December 2023). "Film director Otar Iosseliani dies aged 89". BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67743328 ↩

  12. "And Then There Was Light (1989) | MUBI". https://mubi.com/en/us/films/and-then-there-was-light ↩

  13. "Venice Film Festival (1989)". IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000681/1989/1/ ↩

  14. "Chasing Butterflies (1992) | MUBI". https://mubi.com/en/us/films/chasing-butterflies ↩

  15. "Georgia, Alone (1994) | MUBI". https://mubi.com/en/us/films/seule-georgie ↩

  16. "Brigands: Chapter VII (1996) | MUBI". https://mubi.com/en/us/films/brigands-chapter-vii ↩

  17. "Berlinale: 1986 Juries". berlinale.de. Retrieved 14 January 2011. http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1986/04_jury_1986/04_Jury_1986.html ↩

  18. "19th Moscow International Film Festival (1995)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 22 March 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130322162953/http://moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff34/eng/archives/?year=1995 ↩

  19. "Georgian film-maker Otar Iosseliani dies at 89". The Guardian. 17 December 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/dec/18/otar-iosseliani-georgian-filmmaker-died-89-cause-of-death ↩

  20. "Georgia elige "Chantrapas" para los Oscar". 30 September 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2011. Also verified with Georgian National Film Centre http://premiososcar2012.blogspot.com/2011/09/gerogia-elige-chantrapas-para-los-oscar.html ↩

  21. "9 Foreign Language Films Vie for Oscar". Retrieved 19 January 2012. http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2012/20120118.html ↩

  22. "John Malkovich, Otar Iosseliani to Receive Lifetime Achievement Awards at Munich Film Festival". Hollywood Reporter. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 18 September 2016. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/john-malkovich-otar-iosseliani-receive-192754 ↩

  23. "Lifetime achievement honor for John Malkovich at Munich". Reuters. Retrieved 18 September 2016. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-johnmalkovich-idUSTRE74Q73F20110527 ↩

  24. Bergan, Ronald (18 December 2023). "Otar Iosseliani obituary". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/dec/18/otar-iosseliani-obituary ↩

  25. Умер Отар Иоселиани (in Russian) https://blog.okko.tv/news/umer-otar-ioseliani-17-12-2023 ↩

  26. Grenall, Robert (17 December 2023). "Film director Otar Iosseliani dies aged 89". BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67743328 ↩

  27. "Otar Iosseliani". IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0409646/ ↩

  28. "Aquarelle (1958) MUBI". https://mubi.com/en/us/films/akvarel ↩

  29. "Song About a Flower | IFFR". iffr.com. https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2009/films/song-about-a-flower ↩

  30. "Otar Iosseliani's April (Aprili, 1962) – East European Film Bulletin". East European Film Bulletin –. 6 January 2018. https://eefb.org/retrospectives/otar-iosselianis-april-aprili-1962/ ↩

  31. "Tudzhi". http://www.tainiothiki.gr/en/tributes/otar-ioselliani-a-blackbird-filmmaker/59-movies/370-tudzhi ↩

  32. "Otar Iosseliani's Falling Leaves (Giorgobistve, 1966) – East European Film Bulletin". East European Film Bulletin –. 6 January 2018. https://eefb.org/retrospectives/otar-iosselianis-falling-leaves-giorgobistve-1966/ ↩

  33. "Georgian Ancient Songs (1969) | MUBI". https://mubi.com/en/us/films/georgian-ancient-songs ↩

  34. "Once Upon a Time There Was a Singing Blackbird (1970) | MUBI". https://mubi.com/en/us/films/once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-singing-blackbird ↩

  35. "PASTORAL". GoEast Filmfestival. https://www.filmfestival-goeast.de/en/filme/pastoral/ ↩

  36. "Lettre d'un cinéaste – Sept pièces pour cinéma noir et blanc (1983) | MUBI" (in French). https://mubi.com/fr/us/films/seven-pieces-for-black-and-white-cinema ↩

  37. "Sept Pieces pour cinema noir et blanc". https://www.filmaffinity.com/us/film480469.html ↩

  38. "Euzkadi (1983) | MUBI". https://mubi.com/en/us/films/euzkadi ↩

  39. "Watch Favorites of the Moon (1984) on MUBI". https://mubi.com/en/us/films/favorites-of-the-moon ↩

  40. "A Little Monastery in Tuscany". https://mubi.com/en/us/films/a-little-monastery-in-tuscany ↩

  41. "Film". Punto de Vista festival. https://www.puntodevistafestival.com/en/film/and-then-there-was-light ↩

  42. Losange, Les Films du. "Chasing Butterflies – les films du losange" (in French). https://filmsdulosange.com/en/film/chasing-butterflies/ ↩

  43. "Georgia, Alone (1994) | MUBI". https://mubi.com/en/us/films/seule-georgie ↩

  44. "Brigands: Chapter VII (1996) | MUBI". https://mubi.com/en/us/films/brigands-chapter-vii ↩

  45. "Farewell, Home Sweet Home! (1999) | MUBI". https://mubi.com/en/us/films/farewell-home-sweet-home ↩

  46. "Monday Morning de Otar Iosseliani (2001) – Unifrance". en.unifrance.org. https://en.unifrance.org/movie/22002/monday-morning ↩

  47. Bradshaw, Peter (22 December 2008). "Gardens in Autumn". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/dec/22/review-gardens-in-autumn ↩

  48. Crawford, James. "Gardens in Autumn". Reverse Shot. Museum of the Moving Image. Retrieved 19 December 2023. https://reverseshot.org/reviews/entry/1608/gardens_in_autumn ↩

  49. "Chantrapas". https://mubi.com/en/us/films/chantrapas ↩

  50. Koehler, Robert (22 May 2010). "Chantrapas". Variety. Retrieved 19 December 2023. https://variety.com/2010/film/markets-festivals/chantrapas-1117942843/ ↩

  51. "Winter Song". Film at Lincoln Center. https://www.filmlinc.org/films/winter-song/ ↩

  52. Pfeifer, Moritz (6 January 2018). "Otar Iosseliani's Winter Song (Chant d'hiver, 2015) – East European Film Bulletin". East European Film Bulletin –. https://eefb.org/perspectives/otar-iosselianis-winter-song-chant-dhiver-2015/ ↩