Rza Abbasgulu oglu Tahmasib ( az, Rza Təhmasib; 20 April 1894,

Nakhchivan City Nakhchivan ( az, Naxçıvan ; arm, Նախիջևան, Nakhijevan) is the capital of the eponymous Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan, located west of Baku. The municipality of Nakhchivan consists of the city of Nakhchivan, the settleme ...

– 14 February 1980, Baku) was an

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

i film director and actor. He also worked as a professor of theatre, and translator of play scripts from Russian into Azeri.

Early life

Tahmasib was born as Rza Tahmasibbeyov to a wealthy merchant family, he was born on 20 April 1894 in

, Russian Empire. He received his primary education at Maktab-i Tarbiyya school in Nakhchivan, where he learned

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

languages. He continued his education at a three-year Russian school in his hometown. His interest to theatre was invoked by actor

Huseyn Arablinski Huseyn Arablinski ( az, Hüseyn Ərəblinski), born Huseynbala Mammad oghlu Khalafov (1881, Baku – 17 March 1919, Baku), was an Azerbaijanis, Azerbaijani actor. Life and career Born to a poor family, Huseyn Arablinski lost his father at a young ...

who was touring Nakhchivan with his troupe in 1907. In 1910 he left for

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

where he studied at a School of Commerce and joined an amateur actors' club at Shaitan Bazaar.Rza Tahmasib: A Man Who Dealt with His Grief Alone
by J.Tahmasib. ''El Jurnali''. February 2006. Retrieved 28 July 2007 Constantly travelling between Nakhchivan, Tiflis and

Erivan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

, he often participate in both amateur and professional theatre activities in all of the three cities.Directors: Rza Tahmasib
''Azeriart.net'' In 1918, Tahmasib moved to Baku to enter the program of Oriental Studies at the Azerbaijan State University. That same year he got married and had a son (who soon died by drowning in the

Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchm ...

River), but the marriage did not last long. In his final year of university, Tahmasib switched to the program of Education. In 1933 he was invited by

Sergei Eisenstein Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein (russian: Сергей Михайлович Эйзенштейн, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ ɪjzʲɪnˈʂtʲejn, 2=Sergey Mikhaylovich Eyzenshteyn; 11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, scree ...

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 millio ...

to pursue a degree in film directing at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography and accepted the invitation, having been involved in theatre throughout the 1920s. In 1934 he married a widowed primary school teacher and had three more children.

Contributions

In 1943, Tahmasib directed the movie ''Sabuhi'' (1943), a tribute to writer and philosopher

Mirza Fatali Akhundov Mirza Fatali Akhundov ( az, Mirzə Fətəli Axundov; fa, میرزا فتحعلی آخوندزاده), also known as Mirza Fatali Akhundzade, or Mirza Fath-Ali Akhundzadeh (12 July 1812 – 9 March 1878), was a celebrated Azerbaijani author, play ...

. However Tahmasib's celebrated masterpiece is considered to be the musical comedy ''Arshin mal alan'' (" The Cloth Peddler", 1945), which was a screen adaptation of

Uzeyir Hajibeyov Uzeyir bey Abdulhuseyn oghlu Hajibeyov ( az, Üzeyir bəy Əbdülhüseyn oğlu Hacıbəyov; russian: Узеир Абдул-Гусейн оглы Гаджибеков, translit=Uzeir Abdul-Guseyn ogly Gadzhibekov; September 18, 1885November 23, 19 ...

's operetta of the same name, composed in 1913. The film was a success not only in Azerbaijan, but throughout the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. For directing ''Arshin mal alan'', Tahmasib received the

Stalin Prize Stalin Prize may refer to: * The State Stalin Prize in science and engineering and in arts, awarded 1941 to 1954, later known as the USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, ...

in 1946. In 1947, Tahmasib acquired a Ph.D. degree and taught at the Azerbaijan Institute of Theatre (now Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts). He also translated plays and theatre-related research articles from Russian to Azeri.Rza Tahmasib
''Inoekino.ru'' His other films include ''Bakinin ishiglari'' (" The Lights of Baku", 1950, in which Tahmasib himself starred), ''Mahni bela yaranir'' ("A Song Is Created Thus", 1959) and ''Onu baghishlamag olarmi?'' ("Can He Be Forgiven?", 1960).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tahmasib, Rza Azerbaijani film directors Azerbaijani film producers Azerbaijani male film actors Soviet film directors Soviet film producers Soviet male film actors Stalin Prize winners People's Artists of the Azerbaijan SSR Soviet Azerbaijani people People from Nakhchivan Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography alumni 1894 births 1980 deaths 20th-century Azerbaijani male actors Burials at II Alley of Honor