Vladimir Motyl
Vladimir Yakovlevich Motyl (; 26 June 1927 – 21 February 2010) was a Soviet and Belarusian film director and screenwriter. Vladimir Motyl was born in Lepiel, Belarus. His father was a Polish émigré, who was arrested in 1930 and sent to Solovki and died there the following year. Many of his other relatives suffered similar treatment. Vladimir and his mother were exiled to the Northern Urals, where he became fascinated in theatre and cinema, and later graduated from the Sverdlovsk Theatrical Institute. For about 10 years he worked in various theatres in the Urals and Siberia and eventually became chief director of Sverdlovsk Young Spectator's Theatre. He decided to start afresh in cinema, despite having no technical qualifications. Eventually he directed his first film, Children of Pamirs (1963) (Detyi Pamira/Дети Памира) in Tajikistan. This work was met with public success, as well as earning him the State Prize of Tajik SSR (1964), and the title of honorary citizen of Dushanbe (1977). His next film Zhenya, Zhenechka and Katyusha (1967) (Женя, Женечка и "Катюша"), a romantic comedy/drama set in 1944, was warmly accepted by the public as well, but earned the displeasure of the Soviet agitprop for "disrespectful" treatment of the second world war theme, and the director fell into disfavor. Nevertheless, he was invited to direct a film which was to become one of the most popular Soviet cult films, the "Red Western" (or technically, "Ostern") White Sun of the Desert. Notably, this film has a strong theme about exile, as its protagonist, Sukhov finds himself waylaid in Central Asia when trying to return home. For his work, Motyl received numerous awards. Filmography 1963: Children of Pamirs (Дети Памира), film director 1967: Zhenya, Zhenechka and Katyusha (Женя, Женечка и Катюша), playwright, film director 1969: White Sun of the Desert (Белое солнце пустыни), film director 1975: The Captivating Star of Happiness (Звезда пленительного счастья) (the title is a line from a verse by Pushkin), playwright, film director 1980: Forest (Лес), playwright, film director 1984: Unbelievable Bet (Невероятное пари), film director 1987: My Best Respects (Честь имею), playwright 1991: Let's Part while we're alright (Расстанемся, пока хорошие), playwright, film director 1993: Okhlamon (Охламон), playwright, play director 1996: Nesut menya koni (Несут меня кони), playwright, film director, music for the songs 2009: Crimson Colour of the Snowfall (Багровый цвет снегопада), playwright, film director, music for the songs Awards 1996:Order of Honour for the film White Sun of the Desert 1998: State Prize of the Russian Federation category Literature and Arts for year 1997, for the film White Sun of the Desert 2003: Honorary title of People's Artist of Russian Federation Death On 5 February 2010, Vladimir Motyl was at home alone when he felt ill. On the same day he was hospitalized in the city clinical hospital No. 67. Initially, he was suspected of a stroke, but in the hospital doctors found a fracture of the cervical vertebrae and pneumonia. On 21 February 2010 at approximately 11 pm Vladimir Motyl died at the