Vytautas Žalakevičius (14 April 1930 – 12 November 1996) was a Soviet and Lithuanian film director and screenwriter. His 1973 film '' That Sweet Word: Liberty!'' won the Golden Prize at the

8th Moscow International Film Festival The 8th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 10 to 23 July 1973. The Golden Prizes were awarded to the Soviet film '' That Sweet Word: Liberty!'' directed by Vytautas Žalakevičius and the Bulgarian film '' Affection'' directed by L ...

Biography

Vytautas Žalakevičius studied mathematics and engineering at

Kaunas University Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) ( lt, Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas (VDU)) is a public university in Kaunas, Lithuania. The university was founded in 1922 during the Polish–Lithuanian War, interwar period as an alternate national university ...

for two years. From 1951 to 1956 he studied film directing under

Mikheil Chiaureli Mikheil Chiaureli ( ka, მიხეილ ჭიაურელი, russian: Михаил Эдишерович Чиаурели, 6 February 1894 – 31 October 1974) was a Soviet Georgian actor, film director and screenwriter. He directed 25 ...

and

Grigori Aleksandrov Grigori Vasilyevich Aleksandrov or Alexandrov (russian: Григо́рий Васи́льевич Алекса́ндров; original family name was Мормоненко or Mormonenko; 23 January 1903 – 16 December 1983) was a prominent Soviet ...

VGIK The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (russian: Всероссийский государственный институт кинематографии имени С. А. Герасимова, meaning ''All-Russian State Institute of Cinemat ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. He shot to fame with his 1956 film ''Adam wants to be a man'' starring

Donatas Banionis Donatas Banionis (28 April 1924 – 4 September 2014) was a Soviet and Lithuanian stage and film actor and theatre director. He has more than 80 credited roles in cinema and is best known for his performance in the lead role of Tarkovsky's '' Sol ...

and his teacher,

Juozas Miltinis Juozas Miltinis (September 3, 1907 in Akmenė, Lithuania – July 13, 1994 in Panevėžys, Lithuania) was a Lithuanian theatre director, actor and founder of the Juozas Miltinis Drama Theatre in Panevėžys. Miltinis has brought up a number of act ...

. His best known film, ''

Nobody Wanted to Die ''Nobody Wanted to Die'' ( lt, Niekas nenorėjo mirti, russian: Никто не хотел умирать) is a 1966 Lithuanian film made in Soviet Lithuania and directed by Vytautas Žalakevičius. Žalakevičius, actor Donatas Banionis, and cin ...

'', starring Lithuanian and Latvian actors, brought him international recognition. From 1974 to 1980, Žalakevičius was a staff director at

Mosfilm Mosfilm (russian: Мосфильм, ''Mosfil’m'' ) is a film studio which is among the largest and oldest in the Russian Federation and in Europe. Founded in 1924 in the USSR as a production unit of that nation's film monopoly, its output incl ...

, albeit his Moscow period was less productive, so he returned to Lithuania. Žalakevičius devoted himself to establishing independent Lithuanian film industry, and still worked with international cast of Lithuanian, Russian and Latvian actors. He also thought directing and writing and worked for television.

Recognition

Vytautas Žalakevičius was Artistic Director of the Lithuanian Film Studio. He was designated People's Artist of the Lithuanian SSR (1981) and

People's Artist of the RSFSR People's Artist of the RSFSR (russian: Народный артист РСФСР, ''Narodnyj artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet Union artists, including theatre and film directors, choreographers, music performers, and orchest ...

(1980). He was co-chairman of the Lithuanian State Committee for Cinematography, member of the

Lithuanian Writers' Union The Lithuanian Association for Writers is an association for writers and poets in Lithuania, founded in 1922. It gives annual prizes and awards to talented Lithuanian writers. The Association also has its own publishing house. References Exter ...

and the

Union of Soviet Writers The Union of Soviet Writers, USSR Union of Writers, or Soviet Union of Writers (russian: Союз писателей СССР, translit=Soyuz Sovetstikh Pisatelei) was a creative union of professional writers in the Soviet Union. It was founded ...

Filmography

* 1956: Skenduolis (graduation work, short) * 1959: Adam wants to be a man ''(Adomas nori būti žmogumi)'' * 1963: Chronicles of one day ''(Vienos dienos kronika)'' * 1965: ''

(Niekas nenorėjo mirti)'' * 1968: ''

Feelings Feelings are subjective self-contained phenomenal experiences. According to the ''APA Dictionary of Psychology'', a feeling is "a self-contained phenomenal experience"; and feelings are "subjective, evaluative, and independent of the sensations ...

'', Lithuanian Film Studios * 1970: Everything about Columbus ''(Visa teisybė apie Kolumbą)'' * 1973: '' That Sweet Word: Liberty!'' ''(Это сладкое слово — свобода!)'' *1974: Breakdown (''Авария'') TV film * 1978: ''

Centaurs A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse. Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as being ...

'' ''(Kentaurai)'' * 1980: Story of an unknown man (''Рассказ неизвестного человека'') * 1981: ''

Faktas ''Faktas'' (russian: Gruppa krovi nol) is a 1981 Soviet Lithuanian-language war film directed by Almantas Grikevicius. It was entered into the 1981 Cannes Film Festival, where Yelena Solovey won the award for Best Supporting Actress. Cast * Re ...

'' * 1982: Apology ''(Atsiprašau)'' * 1987: Sunday in hell ''(Savaitgalį pragare)'' * 1991: Tale of a non-turned-off Moon ''(Žvėris, išeinantis iš jūros)''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zalakevicius, Vytautas 1930 births 1996 deaths 20th-century screenwriters People from Kaunas Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography alumni Academic staff of High Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors Vytautas Magnus University alumni Commander's Crosses of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas People's Artists of the RSFSR Recipients of the Lenin Komsomol Prize Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the USSR State Prize Male screenwriters Lithuanian dramatists and playwrights Lithuanian film directors Lithuanian screenwriters Soviet dramatists and playwrights Soviet film directors Soviet screenwriters