Grigorii Gevorkovich Melik-Avakian

Born June 21, 1920, in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR. Soviet film director and film writer. Honored Art Worker of the Armenian SSR (1966).

In 1951, Melik-Avakian graduated from the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography. He works at the Armenfil’m Studio. His feature films include The Heart Sings (1957), Heart of a Mother (1958), What the River Sings About (1959), Before Sunrise (1961), Presenting the Singer Goar Gasparian (1964), Hello, Artem! (1964), Spring, Snow Has Fallen (1969), and Echoes of the Past (1971). He also made the documentaries Seven Songs About Armenia (1968) and Don’t Ring, Bell, Don’t Ring (1970). He helped write the scenarios for most of the films he directed. He has been awarded the Order of the Red Star and a number of medals.