Nato Vachnadze
Encyclopedia
Nato Vachnadze born Nato Andronikashvili , ( 14 June 1904 – 14 June 1953) was a Georgian
USSR/Soviet film actress. She started her career in the silent film era, usually playing the screen character of an Ingénue
, an innocent and passionate young woman. She continued to work as an actress during the sound era until her death in a plane crash in 1953. One of the first film stars of the Soviet Union she received numerous honors, including the title of People's Artist
of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Stalin prize
.
, then in the Russian Empire
as the daughter of a Georgian father from the Andronikashvili family
and a Polish mother. She adopted her last name from her first marriage to Merab Vachnadze. Her second marriage was with the film director Nikoloz Shengelaia, with whom she had two sons, the film directors Giorgi Shengelaya and Eldar Shengelaya
.
Although several versions of her discovery for the film exist, the most popular and likely is that the film director Shakro Berishvili noticed her photography in a photo studio in Tbilisi
. He managed to find her in Kakheti
and convinced to play in her first film, the 1923 adventure film Arsen the Bandit. The role of Nunu in the 1923 film Patricide and the role of Esma in the 1924 film Three Lives
made her famous not only in the Georgian Union Republic, but all over the Soviet Union. In these films her screen character was that of an Ingénue
, an innocent and passionate young woman. The theater and film director Kote Marjanishvili
gave Vachnadze two challenging roles in the experimental films The Gadfly
and Amok adapted from novels by Ethel Voynich
and Stefan Zweig
. By now not only a national, but also an international star she played the gypsy woman Masha in the German-Soviet film The Living Corpse, adapted from the Leo Tolstoy
play The Living Corpse
.
Vachnadze was - together with her male colleague Igor Ilyinsky
- one of the first film stars of the young Soviet Union, and was sometimes called the Soviet Vera Kholodnaya, after the first film star of the Russian empire, Vera Kholodnaya
. Indicators for her stardom are the appearance of her name in film advertisements and the publication of two pulp biographies printed in nearly 100,000 copies. Her screen character was decidedly different from the screen characters of other actresses. Most Soviet actresses in the 1920s were relegated to playing either the role of a traditional or proletarian heroine. Vachnadze in contrast played glamorous women with private lives - presumably her exotic Georgian origin allowed her more freedoms on the screen than a Russian actress would have had. Unusual for Soviet cinema most of her films were steamy melodramas in which she acted with considerable passion and emotion. Yevgenia Ginzburg
described her as a "dovelike heroine" and as "an eternal victim" in his memoirs. The writer Viktor Shklovsky
described her as "an artiste of the American type because her value lies in the purity of her ethnographic type".
With the emergence of the sound film Vachnadze decided to have a time out. Following a recommendation by Grigori Kozintsev
she went to Moscow where she worked for Esfir Shub
as an assistant director. She then returned to Georgia, restarting her career in some of the earliest Georgian sound films such as the 1934 film The Last Crusaders and Mikheil Chiaureli
's The Last Masquerade. She also played in films of her second husband, Nikoloz Shengelaia, including the silent film Giuli and The Golden Valley. Her last film was the 1952 film Conquerors of the Peaks directed by Davit Rondeli.
As the first star of Georgian and Soviet cinema she was both named a People's Artist
of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic and was awarded a Stalin prize
in 1941. She was named an Honorary Artist
of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
and received three orders of the Red Banner of Labor
. In 1943 she also became a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
. Vachnadze died in a plane crash in 1953. Shortly before her death the poet and writer Boris Pasternak
addressed her during a visit to his country house. He said about Nato Vachnadze "Your beauty evokes a desire [in us] to kneel down before you!".
After her death she received several honors. A street in Tbilisi and a product tanker
of the Georgian Shipping Company was named after her from 1985 to 1995. The Georgian film award is named Nato in her honor. In 1981 the Nato Vachnadze House Museum opened on the family estate in Gurjaani
, Kakheti.
Georgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
USSR/Soviet film actress. She started her career in the silent film era, usually playing the screen character of an Ingénue
Ingenue (stock character)
See also Disingenuous, which is not quite the antonym that it may seem!The ingénue is a stock character in literature, film, and a role type in the theatre; generally a girl or a young woman who is endearingly innocent and wholesome. Ingenue may also refer to a new young actress or one typecast in...
, an innocent and passionate young woman. She continued to work as an actress during the sound era until her death in a plane crash in 1953. One of the first film stars of the Soviet Union she received numerous honors, including the title of People's Artist
People's Artist
People's Artist is a honorary title in the Soviet Union, Union republics, in some other Eastern bloc states , as well as in a number of post-Soviet states, modeled after the title of the People's Artist of the USSR....
of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Stalin prize
USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize was the Soviet Union's state honour. It was established on September 9, 1966. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the prize was followed up by the State Prize of the Russian Federation....
.
Biography
Nato Vachnadze was born in WarsawWarsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, then in the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
as the daughter of a Georgian father from the Andronikashvili family
Andronikashvili
The Andronikashvili sometimes known as Endronikashvili was a princely family in Georgia which claimed their descent from the Byzantine Comnenid dynasty and played a prominent role in political, military and religious life of Georgia...
and a Polish mother. She adopted her last name from her first marriage to Merab Vachnadze. Her second marriage was with the film director Nikoloz Shengelaia, with whom she had two sons, the film directors Giorgi Shengelaya and Eldar Shengelaya
Eldar Shengelaya
Eldar Shengelaya is a Georgian and Soviet film director and screenwriter who directed ten films between 1957 and 1996. From 1990 to 2004, he was member of the Parliament of Georgia. He has been awarded the titles of the People's Artist of Georgia and of the Soviet Union...
.
Although several versions of her discovery for the film exist, the most popular and likely is that the film director Shakro Berishvili noticed her photography in a photo studio in Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
. He managed to find her in Kakheti
Kakheti
Kakheti is a historical province in Eastern Georgia inhabited by Kakhetians who speak a local dialect of Georgian. It is bordered by the small mountainous province of Tusheti and the Greater Caucasus mountain range to the north, Russian Federation to the Northeast, Azerbaijan to the Southeast, and...
and convinced to play in her first film, the 1923 adventure film Arsen the Bandit. The role of Nunu in the 1923 film Patricide and the role of Esma in the 1924 film Three Lives
Three Lives (film)
Three Lives is a 1924 Georgian silent film directed by Ivan Perestiani.-Cast:* Nato Vachnadze as Esma* Mikheil Gelovani as Bakhva* Dimitri Kipiani as Yeremia Tsarba...
made her famous not only in the Georgian Union Republic, but all over the Soviet Union. In these films her screen character was that of an Ingénue
Ingenue (stock character)
See also Disingenuous, which is not quite the antonym that it may seem!The ingénue is a stock character in literature, film, and a role type in the theatre; generally a girl or a young woman who is endearingly innocent and wholesome. Ingenue may also refer to a new young actress or one typecast in...
, an innocent and passionate young woman. The theater and film director Kote Marjanishvili
Kote Marjanishvili
Konstantine "Kote" Marjanishvili also known by the Russified name Konstantin Aleksandrovich Mardzhanov was a Georgian theater director regarded as an important contributor to the pre- and post-revolutionary evolution of Georgian, Russian and Soviet stages...
gave Vachnadze two challenging roles in the experimental films The Gadfly
Krazana
Krazana is a 1928 Georgian black-and-white silent film directed by Kote Marjanishvili based on the novel The Gadfly by Ethel Lilian Voynich.-Cast:* Nato Vachnadze as Jema* I. Merabishvili as Arthur...
and Amok adapted from novels by Ethel Voynich
Ethel Lilian Voynich
Ethel Lilian Voynich, née Boole was a British novelist and musician, and a supporter of several revolutionary causes. She was born in Cork. Her father was the mathematician George Boole. Her mother was feminist philosopher Mary Everest, niece of George Everest and an author for the...
and Stefan Zweig
Stefan Zweig
Stefan Zweig was an Austrian novelist, playwright, journalist and biographer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most famous writers in the world.- Biography :...
. By now not only a national, but also an international star she played the gypsy woman Masha in the German-Soviet film The Living Corpse, adapted from the Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
play The Living Corpse
The Living Corpse
The Living Corpse is a Russian play by Leo Tolstoy. Although written around 1900, it was only published shortly after his death—Tolstoy had never considered the work finished...
.
Vachnadze was - together with her male colleague Igor Ilyinsky
Igor Ilyinsky
Igor Vladimirovich Ilyinsky was a famous Russian actor and notable silent film comedian.-Early years:Igor Ilyinsky was born on 24 July 1901 in Moscow.At the age of 16 he entered the Komissarzhevskaya Theatre Studio and in half a year already debuted on the professional stage in Kommisarzhevskaya...
- one of the first film stars of the young Soviet Union, and was sometimes called the Soviet Vera Kholodnaya, after the first film star of the Russian empire, Vera Kholodnaya
Vera Kholodnaya
Vera Vasilyevna Kholodnaya was the first star of Russian silent cinema...
. Indicators for her stardom are the appearance of her name in film advertisements and the publication of two pulp biographies printed in nearly 100,000 copies. Her screen character was decidedly different from the screen characters of other actresses. Most Soviet actresses in the 1920s were relegated to playing either the role of a traditional or proletarian heroine. Vachnadze in contrast played glamorous women with private lives - presumably her exotic Georgian origin allowed her more freedoms on the screen than a Russian actress would have had. Unusual for Soviet cinema most of her films were steamy melodramas in which she acted with considerable passion and emotion. Yevgenia Ginzburg
Yevgenia Ginzburg
Yevgenia Ginzburg was a Russian author who served an 18-year sentence in the Gulag. Her given name is often Latinized to Eugenia.-Family and early career:...
described her as a "dovelike heroine" and as "an eternal victim" in his memoirs. The writer Viktor Shklovsky
Viktor Shklovsky
Viktor Borisovich Shklovsky was a Russian and Soviet critic, writer, and pamphleteer.-Life:...
described her as "an artiste of the American type because her value lies in the purity of her ethnographic type".
With the emergence of the sound film Vachnadze decided to have a time out. Following a recommendation by Grigori Kozintsev
Grigori Kozintsev
Grigori Mikhaylovich Kozintsev was a Jewish Ukrainian, Soviet Russian theatre and film director. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1964.He studied in the Imperial Academy of Arts...
she went to Moscow where she worked for Esfir Shub
Esfir Shub
Esfir Ilyichna Shub , also referred as Esther Shub, was a pioneering Soviet filmmaker.Born in Surazh, Chernigov Governorate, part of Left-bank Ukraine within the Russian Empire, Shub began her career in film as a re-editor for Goskino; she edited several Western films according to Goskino...
as an assistant director. She then returned to Georgia, restarting her career in some of the earliest Georgian sound films such as the 1934 film The Last Crusaders and Mikheil Chiaureli
Mikheil Chiaureli
Mikheil Chiaureli was a Soviet Georgian film director and screenwriter. He directed 25 films between 1928 and 1974. Mikheil Chiaureli was awarded the Stalin Prize six times, twice in 1941, 1943, 1946, 1947, and 1950.-Selected filmography:as actor...
's The Last Masquerade. She also played in films of her second husband, Nikoloz Shengelaia, including the silent film Giuli and The Golden Valley. Her last film was the 1952 film Conquerors of the Peaks directed by Davit Rondeli.
As the first star of Georgian and Soviet cinema she was both named a People's Artist
People's Artist
People's Artist is a honorary title in the Soviet Union, Union republics, in some other Eastern bloc states , as well as in a number of post-Soviet states, modeled after the title of the People's Artist of the USSR....
of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic and was awarded a Stalin prize
USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize was the Soviet Union's state honour. It was established on September 9, 1966. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the prize was followed up by the State Prize of the Russian Federation....
in 1941. She was named an Honorary Artist
Meritorious Artist
Meritorious Artist , also translated as Merited Artist, Deserved Artist or Distinguished Artist or Honorary Artist or Honorable Actor) is an honorary title in the Soviet Union, Russian Federation, Union republics, and Autonomous republics, also in some other Eastern bloc states, as well as in a...
of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
and received three orders of the Red Banner of Labor
Order of the Red Banner of Labour
The Order of the Red Banner of Labour was an order of the Soviet Union for accomplishments in labour and civil service. It is the labour counterpart of the military Order of the Red Banner. A few institutions and factories, being the pride of Soviet Union, also received the order.-History:The Red...
. In 1943 she also became a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
. Vachnadze died in a plane crash in 1953. Shortly before her death the poet and writer Boris Pasternak
Boris Pasternak
Boris Leonidovich Pasternak was a Russian language poet, novelist, and literary translator. In his native Russia, Pasternak's anthology My Sister Life, is one of the most influential collections ever published in the Russian language...
addressed her during a visit to his country house. He said about Nato Vachnadze "Your beauty evokes a desire [in us] to kneel down before you!".
After her death she received several honors. A street in Tbilisi and a product tanker
Oil tanker
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a merchant ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries...
of the Georgian Shipping Company was named after her from 1985 to 1995. The Georgian film award is named Nato in her honor. In 1981 the Nato Vachnadze House Museum opened on the family estate in Gurjaani
Gurjaani
Gurjaani is a town in Georgia, located in the region of Kakheti and serving as the center of the Gurjaani district.Gurjaani is situated in the Alazani Valley, 415 m above sea level, and 110 km east of the nation's capital Tbilisi. As of the 2002 census, its population was approximately 10,000. The...
, Kakheti.
Filmography
| Year | English Title | Georgian Title | Russian Title | Role | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1923 | Arsen the Bandit | არსენა ყაჩაღი | Разбойник Арсен | Neno | Vladimir Barsky |
| Patricide | მამის მკვლელი | У позорного столба | Nunu | Hamo Beknazarian Hamo Beknazarian Hamo Beknazarian , also known as Hamo Bek Nazarov or Amo Bek-Nazarian, was an Armenian and Soviet film director.-Biography:... |
|
| 1924 | Three Lives Three Lives (film) Three Lives is a 1924 Georgian silent film directed by Ivan Perestiani.-Cast:* Nato Vachnadze as Esma* Mikheil Gelovani as Bakhva* Dimitri Kipiani as Yeremia Tsarba... |
სამი სიცოცხლე | Три жизни | Esma | Ivan Perestiani Ivan Perestiani Ivan Nikolaevich Perestiani was a film director, script-writer and actor, People's Artist of the Georgian SSR . He was an ethnic Greek, his original name being Giannis Nikolas Perestianis.-Biography:... |
| 1925 | The Case of Tariel Mklavadze's Murder | ტარიელ მკლავაძის მკვლელობის საქმე | Герой нашего времени | Despine | Ivan Perestiani Ivan Perestiani Ivan Nikolaevich Perestiani was a film director, script-writer and actor, People's Artist of the Georgian SSR . He was an ethnic Greek, his original name being Giannis Nikolas Perestianis.-Biography:... |
| Who is the Guilty? Who is the Guilty? Who is the Guilty? is a 1925 Georgian silent film directed by Alexandre Tsutsunava-Plot:The young farmer Siko wants to start a better life by working for an American circus. His family stays behind, but after he leaves his child dies.... |
ვინ არის დამნაშავე? | Наездник из Вайлд Вест | Pati | Alexandre Tsutsunava | |
| Horrors of the Past 2 | ათასის ფასად | Vladimir Barsky | |||
| 1926 | The Gadfly Krazana Krazana is a 1928 Georgian black-and-white silent film directed by Kote Marjanishvili based on the novel The Gadfly by Ethel Lilian Voynich.-Cast:* Nato Vachnadze as Jema* I. Merabishvili as Arthur... |
კრაზანა | Овод | Jema | Kote Marjanishvili Kote Marjanishvili Konstantine "Kote" Marjanishvili also known by the Russified name Konstantin Aleksandrovich Mardzhanov was a Georgian theater director regarded as an important contributor to the pre- and post-revolutionary evolution of Georgian, Russian and Soviet stages... |
| Natela | ნათელა | Натела | Natela | Hamo Beknazarian Hamo Beknazarian Hamo Beknazarian , also known as Hamo Bek Nazarov or Amo Bek-Nazarian, was an Armenian and Soviet film director.-Biography:... |
|
| 1927 | Amok | ამოკი | Амок, закон и долг | Woman | Kote Marjanishvili Kote Marjanishvili Konstantine "Kote" Marjanishvili also known by the Russified name Konstantin Aleksandrovich Mardzhanov was a Georgian theater director regarded as an important contributor to the pre- and post-revolutionary evolution of Georgian, Russian and Soviet stages... |
| Giuli | გიული | Гиули | Guili | Nikoloz Shengelaia | |
| 1928 | The Living Corpse | Живой труп | Masha | Fedor Otsep | |
| 1930 | Suburban Quarters | Кварталы предместья | Dora | Grigori Gritscher-Tcherikover | |
| 1931 | Iron Brigade | Железная бригада | Masha | Dmitri Vasilyev Dmitri Vasilyev (director) Dmitri Ivanovich Vasilyev was a Soviet film director. He directed in 9 films between 1931 and 1960.-Selected filmography:* Iron Brigade ; co-directed with Mikhail Verner* Lenin in October ; co-directed with Mikhail Romm... |
|
| 1934 | The Last Crusaders | უკანასკნელი ჯვაროსნები | Последние крестоносцы | Tsitsya | Siko Dolidze |
| The Last Masquerade | უკანასკნელი მასკარადი | Последний маскарад | Tamari | Mikheil Chiaureli Mikheil Chiaureli Mikheil Chiaureli was a Soviet Georgian film director and screenwriter. He directed 25 films between 1928 and 1974. Mikheil Chiaureli was awarded the Stalin Prize six times, twice in 1941, 1943, 1946, 1947, and 1950.-Selected filmography:as actor... |
|
| 1937 | The Golden Valley | ნარინჯის ველი | Золотистая долина | Nani | Nikoloz Shengelaia |
| Arsena | არსენა | Арсен | Neno | Mikheil Chiaureli Mikheil Chiaureli Mikheil Chiaureli was a Soviet Georgian film director and screenwriter. He directed 25 films between 1928 and 1974. Mikheil Chiaureli was awarded the Stalin Prize six times, twice in 1941, 1943, 1946, 1947, and 1950.-Selected filmography:as actor... |
|
| 1939 | Girl from Khidobani | ქალიშვილი ხიდობნიდან | Девушка из Хидобани | Gviristine | Diomide Antadze |
| 1940 | Motherland | სამშობლო | Родина | Natela | Diomide Antadze and Nikoloz Shengelaia |
| 1941 | Qadjana | ქაჯანა | Каджана | Marta | Konstantine Pipinashvili |
| 1943 | He will come back | ის კიდევ დაბრუნდება | Он еще вернется | Manana | Diomide Antadze and Nikoloz Shengelaia |
| 1947 | A Cradle for Akaki | აკაკის აკვანი | Колыбель поэта | Mano | Konstantine Pipinashvili |
| 1948 | Keto and Kote | ქეთო და კოტე | Кето и Котэ | Dancing in the last scene | Vakhtang Tabliashvili and Shalva Gedevanishvili |
| 1952 | Conquerors of the Peaks | მწვერვალთა დამპყრობნი | Покорители вершин | Elisabed Lomidze | Davit Rondeli |