Kamil Iarmatov

Born May 2, 1903, in Kanibadam, Fergana; died Nov. 17, 1978. Soviet Uzbek actor and stage director. People’s Artist of the USSR (1959). Hero of Socialist Labor (1973). Member of the CPSU from 1930.

Iarmatov became involved in the cinema in the early 1920’s, originally as an actor. He graduated from the department of directing of the State Institute of Cinematography in 1931. His first effort as a director was the film Far Away on the Border (1931). His motion pictures Alisher Navoi (1948) and Avicenna (1957) portray prominent figures of Uzbekistan, fighters for social justice; his Storm Over Asia (1965) is devoted to the Revolution and the friendship between the Russian people and the peoples of Central Asia. These three works had great significance for the development of Uzbek cinema. Iarmatov’s other films have included Knights of the Revolution (1968), One Woman Among the People (1973), and Yesterday Was So Long Ago (1977).

Iarmatov was a deputy to the sixth through ninth convocations of the Supreme Soviet of the Uzbek SSR. He received the State Prize of the USSR in 1948 and the Khamza State Prize of the Uzbek SSR in 1967. He was awarded three Orders of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, and several medals.