(08.03.1946 – 06.03.2017)

Kalju Komissarov was a legendary actor, teacher, theatre and film director. Komissarov is mainly known for his contribution to the theatre department, leading and guiding almost the whole performing arts ecosystem in his time. His career started in the film department as director in Tallinnfilm studio. Young Komissarov brought fresh and brave ideas to the film industry, but due to the conservatism and restrictions of the studio leaders, he didn’t get the freedom to fully express the visions and decided to change the career path. “Komissarov was dangerous: a young man with enough experience and vision to direct a feature film. He could create a creative breeze in the film studio, lay the foundation for modern national cinematography. Kalju theatre productions were progressive and very cinematic in style. Anyway, our dream of a feature film disappeared into nothingness,” (T. Virve, 2015). He managed to direct 3 fiction films, e.g. “Unusual Case” (1974) and “Wild Captain” (1971), but also took a part of shooting the Estonian film classic “The Last Relic” (1969), as  assistant director. In addition to his work in theatre, he still managed to set his steps back to the film industry, but this time as an actor. Komissarov acted in 14 films, for example in “Men in Soldier’s Overcoats” (1968), “The Ideal Landscape” (1981), or “Mindless” (2006). His work is valued all over the country. Kalju Komissarov received the National Culture Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015.