Rza Abbasgulu oglu Tahmasib (Azerbaijani: Rza Təhmasib; 20 April
1894, Nakhchivan City â€" 14 February 1980, Baku) was an Azerbaijani
film director and actor.Tahmasib was born Rza Tahmasibbeyov to a
wealthy merchant family. He received his primary education at Maktab-i
Tarbiyya school in Nakhchivan, where he learned Russian, Persian and
Arabic languages. He continued his education at a three-year Russian
school in his hometown. His interest to theatre was invoked by actor
Huseyn Arablinski who was touring Nakhchivan with his troupe in 1907.
In 1910 he left for Tiflis where he studied at a School of Commerce
and joined an amateur actors' club at Shaitan Bazaar. Constantly
travelling between Nakhchivan, Tiflis and Erivan, he often participate
in both amateur and professional theatre activities in all of the
three cities. 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
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 to Moscow 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.In 1943, Tahmasib directed the movie Sabuhi (1943), a tribute
to writer and philosopher Mirza Fatali Akhundov. 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's operetta of the same name, composed in 1913. The
film was a success not only in Azerbaijan, but throughout the Soviet
Union. For directing Arshin mal alan, Tahmasib received the Stalin
Prize in 1946. In 1947 Tahmasib acquired a Ph.D. degree and taught at
the Azerbaijan Institute of Theatre. He also translated plays and
theatre-related research articles from Russian to Azeri. 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).
1894, Nakhchivan City â€" 14 February 1980, Baku) was an Azerbaijani
film director and actor.Tahmasib was born Rza Tahmasibbeyov to a
wealthy merchant family. He received his primary education at Maktab-i
Tarbiyya school in Nakhchivan, where he learned Russian, Persian and
Arabic languages. He continued his education at a three-year Russian
school in his hometown. His interest to theatre was invoked by actor
Huseyn Arablinski who was touring Nakhchivan with his troupe in 1907.
In 1910 he left for Tiflis where he studied at a School of Commerce
and joined an amateur actors' club at Shaitan Bazaar. Constantly
travelling between Nakhchivan, Tiflis and Erivan, he often participate
in both amateur and professional theatre activities in all of the
three cities. 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
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 to Moscow 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.In 1943, Tahmasib directed the movie Sabuhi (1943), a tribute
to writer and philosopher Mirza Fatali Akhundov. 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's operetta of the same name, composed in 1913. The
film was a success not only in Azerbaijan, but throughout the Soviet
Union. For directing Arshin mal alan, Tahmasib received the Stalin
Prize in 1946. In 1947 Tahmasib acquired a Ph.D. degree and taught at
the Azerbaijan Institute of Theatre. He also translated plays and
theatre-related research articles from Russian to Azeri. 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).
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