Marlen Khutsiev


Marlen Martynovich Khutsiev was a Georgian-born Soviet and Russian filmmaker best known for his cult films from the 1960s, which include I Am Twenty and July Rain. He was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1986.

Biography

Khutsiev's father, Martyn Levanovich Khutsishvili, was a lifelong Communist who was purged in 1937. His mother, Nina Mikhailovna Utenelishvili was an actress. Khutsiev studied film in the directing department at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, graduating in 1952. He worked as a director at the Odessa film studio from 1952 to 1958, and worked full-time as a director at Mosfilm from 1965 onward.
Khutsiev's first feature film, Spring on Zarechnaya Street
His 1991 film Infinitas won the Alfred Bauer Prize at the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival.

Honours and awards