Iosif Kheifits

Iosif Yefimovich Kheifits (Иосиф Ефимович Хейфиц; 17 December 1905 – 24 April 1995) was a Soviet film director, winner of two Stalin Prizes (1941, 1946), People's Artist of USSR (1964), Hero of Socialist Labor (1975). Member of the Communist Party of Soviet Union since 1945.

Life and career
Kheifets was born 17 December 1905 in Minsk. In 1927 he graduated from the Leningrad Technical-screen art (now - Saint Petersburg State Institute of Film and Television), and in 1928 - cinema faculty of Institute of History of Art. In 1928, Iosif Kheifets came to work at the film studio "Sovkino" (now - Lenfilm Studio). In film, he first made his debut as a screenwriter, with Aleksandr Ivanov and Aleksandr Zarkhi he created the scripts for films "Moon on the left" and "Transportation of fire".

Then, Iosif Kheifits became a director, while from 1928 to 1950 he worked with Alexander Zarkhi, headed the 1st Komsomol stage brigade of the Leningrad factory "Sovkino" (now Lenfilm Studio), releasing films on the Soviet youth- Wind in the face(1930), Noon (1931), the comedy Hectic Days (1935). Baltic Deputy (1937) featured how Russian scientist Professor Polezhayev (referring to Kliment Timiryazev, starring Nikolay Cherkasov) joined the October Revolution. A significant piece of cinema became "Member of the Government" (1939), film centered on the image of a Russian peasant woman (starring Vera Maretskaya), who took the difficult path from a farmhand to a deputy of the Supreme Soviet. Together with Zarkhi he set such films as His name is Sukhebaator (1942), Malakhov Kurgan (1944), and the 1945 documentary The defeat of Japan. In the 1950s he directed such films as A Big Family, Rumyantsev Case, and My dear man. Then Iosif Kheifits turned towards the Russian classics, filmed works of Anton Chekhov, Ivan Turgenev, Aleksandr Kuprin - Lady with the Dog, Good bad man, Asya, and Shurochka.

In 1970 his film Hail, Mary! entered the 7th Moscow International Film Festival. In 1975 he was a member of the jury at the 9th Moscow International Film Festival.

Deep disclosure of the inner nature of characters, fine understanding of cinematic language and expressive details can be listed as distinctive features of his work.

His films brightly and und unexpectedly opened creative individualities of may actors, such as Iya Savvina, Alexei Batalov, Anatoly Papanov, Oleg Dal, Vladimir Vysotsky, Lyudmila Maksakova, Ada Rogovtseva, Elena Koreneva, Stanislav Sadalskiy.

Many times the director's work were honored with various film awards, including Cannes Film Festival. Heifits last work was the dramatic film Vagrant Bus, which was released in 1989.

Iosif Kheifits died 24 April 1995. He was buried at the cemetery in Komarovo.

Assistant director

 * 1928 - Luna Sleva (The Moon Is to the Left)
 * 1930 - Transport Ognya (Transport of Fire)

Director

 * 1930 - Wind in the Face
 * 1931 - Noon
 * 1933 - My Motherland
 * 1935 - Hectic Days
 * 1936 - Baltic Deputy
 * 1939 - Member of the Government
 * 1942 - His Name Is Sukhe-Bator
 * 1944 - The Last Hill
 * 1946 - In the Name of Life
 * 1948 - The precious grains
 * 1950 - The Lights of Baku
 * 1953 - Spring in Moscow
 * 1954 - A Big Family
 * 1955 - The Rumyantsev Case
 * 1958 - My Beloved
 * 1961 - The Horizon
 * 1960 - Lady with the Dog
 * 1963 - Day of Happiness
 * 1966 - In S. City
 * 1971 - Hail, Mary!
 * 1973 - Bad good man
 * 1975 - The only one
 * 1977 - Asya
 * 1979 - First Time Married
 * 1983 - Shurotchka
 * 1986 - The Accused
 * 1988 - Whose Are You, Old People?
 * 1989 - Vagrant bus

Written scenarios

 * 1928 - Moon on the left
 * 1935 - Hot denechki
 * 1939 - Member of the Government
 * 1944 - Malakhov Kurgan
 * 1986 - Defendant
 * 1989 - Vagrant bus

Awards and prizes

 * Stalin Prize, second class (1941); for the film "Baltic Deputy" (1936)
 * Stalin Prize of the first degree (1946); for the documentary "The defeat of Japan" (1945)
 * People's Artist of the USSR (1964)
 * Hero of Socialist Labor (1975)