Vasil Amashukeli ( ka, ვასილ ამაშუკელი) (14 March 1886 in

Kutaisi Kutaisi ( ; ka, ქუთაისი ) is a city in the Imereti region of the Georgia (country), Republic of Georgia. One of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, it is the List o ...

– 1 December 1977 in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

) was an early Georgian

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

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

who worked in the

Cinema of Azerbaijan Cinema of Azerbaijan dates back to the 19th century. Azerbaijan is one of the first countries in the world involved in cinematography. The first Azerbaijani film was a thirty second long silent film called The Oil Gush Fire in Bibiheybat, which ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Biography

Vasil Amashukeli studied at Vasil Tamarashvili Art School in

. In 1908 he graduated from

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

division courses of French film firm “Gomon”. Amashukeli is the first Georgian documentary director. Vasil worked as a mechanical engineer in the cinema opened by Ephemia Meskhi’s husband, Ivane Gepner and Kote Meskhi. In 1907 Amashukeli working in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

made several films of oil production in the capital including the extracting process. His films included ''Bakı Bazarlarının Tipləri'' ( Types of Bakuvian Bazaars - short documentary), ''Daş Kömür Daşınması'' (

Transportation of Coal Transportation of Coal () is a 1907 Russian- Azerbaijani film directed by Vasili Amaşukeli Vasil Amashukeli ( ka, ვასილ ამაშუკელი) (14 March 1886 in Kutaisi – 1 December 1977 in Tbilisi) was an early Georgia (count ...

), ''Dəniz kənarında gəzinti'' (Seaside Walk), ''Neft buruqlarında iş'' (

Work at Oil Derricks ''Work at Oil Derricks'' () is a 1907 Russian- Azerbaijani film directed by Vasili Amaşukeli. The film was shot on 35 mm and captures oil production at a works in the Azeri capital of Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital an ...

), and ''Neftin çıxarılması'' (

Oil Extraction Petroleum is a fossil fuel that can be drawn from beneath the Earth's surface. Reservoirs of petroleum are formed through the mixture of plants, algae, and sediments in shallow seas under high pressure. Petroleum is mostly recovered from oil ...

) all filmed in 1907. He then made several films between 1908 and 1912. These included: ''Nakhet tqveni sakhe'', ''Gaseirneba zgvis sanapiroze'' (Walking on the Beach) (1908), ''Qutaisis peizajebi'' (Sides of City Qutaisi), ''Qutaisis parki'' (Park of Qutaisi) (1911) and ''Akakis mogzauroba '' (

Journey of Akaki ''Journey of Akaki'' is a 1912 Russian short documentary film directed by Vasil Amashukeli. The film having a duration of 44 minutes, it is considered a feature film. Content The film shows the love of Georgian society to the poet Akaki Tseret ...

) in 1912, that is the unique monument of Georgian documentary art. This film led to the outbreak of the Georgia documentary cinematography. The memories of Vasil Amashukeli about the journey of

Akaki Tsereteli Count Akaki Tsereteli ( ka, აკაკი წერეთელი) (1840–1915), often mononymously known as Akaki, was a prominent Georgian poet and national liberation movement figure. Early life and education Tsereteli was born in the vi ...

in Racha-Lechkhumi, together with the photos taken during the journey, are preserved at the department of Literature and Art of the Central Archive of the Contemporary History of

the National Archives of Georgia , seal= , seal_size = , image = File:National Archives of Georgia Building.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption =National Archives of Georgia , coordinates = , jurisdiction = Ministry of Justice of Georgia , dissolved ...

Filmography

; As director * ''

'' (1912) * ''Qutaisis parki (Short documentary)'' (1911) * ''Qutaisis peizajebi (Short documentary)'' (1911) * ''Gaseirneba zgvis sanapiroze (Short)'' (1908) * ''Nakhet tqveni sakhe (Documentary)'' (1908) ; As cinematographer * ''

References

External links

* * 1886 births 1977 deaths Film directors from Georgia (country) Azerbaijani film directors Cinematographers from Georgia (country) Azerbaijani cinematographers People from Kutaisi {{azerbaijan-bio-stub