Vasil Amashukeli, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Vasil Amashukeli

film director and cinematographer

Date of Birth: 14-Mar-1886

Place of Birth: Kutaisi, Imereti, Georgia

Date of Death: 01-Dec-1977

Profession: film director

Zodiac Sign: Pisces

Vasil Amashukeli (Georgian: ????? ?????????) (March 14, 1886, Kutaisi – December 1, 1977, Tbilisi) was an early Georgian film director and cinematographer who worked in the Cinema of Azerbaijan and Georgia. He studied at Vasil Tamarashvili Art School in Kutaisi.
In 1908 he graduated from Moscow division courses of French film firm “Gomon”.
Amashukeli is the first Georgian documentary director. In 1907 Amashukeli working in Baku made several films of oil production in the capital including the extracting process.
His films included Baki Bazarlarinin Tipl?ri (Types of Bakuvian Bazaars - short documentary), Das Kömür Dasinmasi (Transportation of Coal), D?niz k?narinda g?zinti (Seaside Walk), Neft buruqlarinda is (Work at Oil Derricks), and Neftin çixarilmasi (Oil Extraction) all filmed in 1907. Then he 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) in 1912, that is the unique monument of Georgian documentary art.
This film let to the outbreak of the Georgia documentary cinematography. The memories of Vasil Amashukeli about the journey of Akaki Tsereteli 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.