Otar Ioseliani - director who shootssubtle, ironic, intellectual films. His work is hardly familiar to a wide circle of young viewers, his tapes rarely collect full halls, but he has an army of fans all over the world. He belongs to the generation of the sixties, but modern Ioseliani ribbons are relevant and in demand.
Otar Ioseliani, biography with a photo of which todaywas placed in all film encyclopedias, was born in Tbilisi (then Tiflis) on February 2, 1934. His father was a royal officer, mother was educated at the Institute of Noble Maidens. Since childhood, Otar spoke several languages, went to music school, he recalled that he was lucky enough to absorb the culture of old times. When Otar was very young, his father was repressed, and the boy was brought up by women: mother, grandmother and aunt. In 1952 he graduated from the music school in violin and conducting classes. The director said that one of his strongest youthful impressions was for him the films of John Ford, René Claire. Then he realized that cinema - this is a very serious matter, but he has not tried this profession yet.
After school Otar goes to Moscow and enters theMoscow State University, Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics. He studied there for three years. But one day during a visit to a military plant, he realizes that he wants to do something more peaceful and withdraws from Moscow State University. So Ioseliani, the director of God, begins a new path. He withstood a huge competition and entered the VGIK at the course of AP Dovzhenko and ME Chiaureli, where he studied until 1961. Masters not only conveyed the secrets of the profession, but also shaped the worldview of students. Ioseliani already from the student's bench was distinguished by great independence of views and free-thinking.
Already in his student work Otar Ioseliani,director-student, tried to put a deep philosophical idea. Even in documentary tapes, he showed himself as a deeply feeling and philosophizing author. In his first documentary, Sapovnel, the director reveals the future distinctive features of his work: musicality, spirituality of nature. His thesis "April" caused a big scandal, as it was attended by anti-Soviet motives, the commission said that the characters (the young man and the girl) behave immorally, the film was almost pornographic. Although in it Ioseliani, in a symbolic form, sought to convey the simple truth that love should be protected from everyday life, which can kill the feeling. He had to shoot a documentary film "Cast Iron", for this he worked for a year at a metallurgical plant. Thus began the difficult journey of Ioseliani to the profession.
At the end of VGIK Ioseliani, director, biographywhich was developing so hard, I began to look for an opportunity to work by profession. He manages to release two short films: "Watercolor" and the ill-fated "April." But he goes to great work for a long time, and only in 1968 his first full-length film “Falling Leaves” was released. The picture is difficult to issue on the screens, censorship clings to various trifles, making ridiculous accusations. Still, the tape came out, and for it the young director received an award in Cannes and a prize from the French Film Academy. Georges Sadoul "For the best debut".
The next picture of Otar Ioseliani wasDocumentary film “Old Georgian Song” about the ancient vocal art of Georgia - polyphony. But censorship did not miss it, the film lay for many decades on the shelf. The director shoots the playing picture "There once lived a song thrush", which is also very long and difficult for the artistic council. The author is accused of anti-Soviet sentiment, for showing a hero that is not typical for a Soviet country. This philosophical ribbon is a model of the already formed artistic manner of Ioseliani. The film has almost no dynamics, landscapes, still lifes accompanied by unparalleled Georgian music. Meaning is born not from words and actions, but from the composition of the film. "Pastoral" recognized as alien to Soviet cinema and banned. The director was no longer allowed to shoot, he spent 7 years out of work, life became unbearable.
Otar Ioseliani, director, freedom-loving man,was for the Soviet intelligentsia the embodiment of the spirit of freedom, his films were cult, although few had seen them. But the cinematographer himself lived very hard, he wanted to work, and he had no such opportunity. Ioseliani was close friends with Sergei Dovlatov, who by then had long lived in the United States. Another close friend of his, Vladimir Vysotsky, died, including because of the inability to live free. Otar's good acquaintances — Joseph Brodsky and Mikhail Baryshnikov — also left for the United States. The situation around Ioseliani was such that, apart from emigration, he had no way in life. He had to give up either the motherland or himself. But he leaves without a demonstrative break with the country. Ioseliani puts forward a personal reason and leaves for France without fuss.
Near Paris Otar Ioseliani, the filmography of whichwhile there were only three fiction films, she was shooting the film “Favorites of the Moon”, which she had conceived in Georgia. The film is very successful, it receives the prize of the Venice Festival and the great recognition of the European public. So begins the new successful life of the director. Now he regularly shoots, the tapes “And became the light” and “The hunt for butterflies” together with the “Favorites” constituted the golden fund of Ioseliani. In total in France, he makes six films, which with different success passed around the world.
In 2006, Otar Ioseliani, whose biographyhe makes a circle and returns him to his homeland, starts making films with the participation of Russian producers. He is increasingly in his homeland, participates in festivals, gives interviews. There is a kind of return, although Ioseliani continues to live more in France. But now he is again called the Georgian director. In the international team, he makes several new films: “Gardens in the Fall”, “Shantrap”, “Winter Song”, in which he appears as a mature master with his unique vision of the world. They are full of deep symbolism and metaphors. Over the years, the artist is increasingly moving away from plot in the direction of associations and allusions. These tapes were presented for the premiere in Georgia and Russia, they received several prizes at European festivals.
Otar Ioseliani, director, whose name is knownlovers of high-quality European cinema all over the world, he made only 12 films in 40 years. But the quality of his filmography is very high, there are no failures among his heritage. In each tape, he progressively moves to the crystallization of his artistic method. Therefore, choosing the best paintings in his legacy is not easy. There are critics who single out the “golden” period of Ioseliani and refer to it three works: “Favorites of the Moon”, “And the Light Becomes” and “Butterfly Hunt”. Some film experts say that the real Ioseliani appeared in the trilogy "Truth in Wine", "Monday Morning" and "Gardens in the Fall." Anyway, for every viewer, the Master has his own film, which can be loved and best.
Otar Ioseliani - director who is not spoiledofficial recognition of the authorities in none of the three countries in which he worked. However, he could not complain because he has a huge collection of awards and prizes from various festivals. For his 12 works, he received more than 20 awards. Among them are such prestigious prizes as FIPRESCI at the Cannes Film Festival, awards of the Venice, Berlin and Moscow Film Festivals. He is the winner of the “Felix”, “Nika”, “Golden Aries” awards, named after J. Sadoul, “The Golden Knight”, the Italian Ministry of Culture, and the Locarno Film Festival “For contributions to cinema art”. Ioseliani is always reserved about praises, saying that he just did what he could.
Today, Otar Ioseliani, director,whose films have become part of the golden fund of world cinema is a living classic. His name is placed next to the names of Bunuel, Godard, Parajanov. All his life he rather gracefully walked away from the criticism of political systems, although he was not a supporter of either the capitalist or the communist model of the state. He is the singer of freedom and simplicity. However, the pain for his homeland sometimes breaks through in his films, and he fails to completely get away from politics. So, in the film “Georgia One”, he could not resist accusations against the Soviet authorities. But today Ioseliani goes into deep symbolism and tries to escape from everyday realities, his path is a philosophical reflection on the eternal.
The director continues to live in France, but often in Georgia, where he has relatives. He never started his own family, although there were legends about his numerous novels.
