Kalatozov was born in Tiflis, Russian Empire. His family belonged to a noble Amirejibi house that traces its history back to the 13th century. One of Mikhail's uncles served as a General in the Imperial Russian Army, another one was among the founders of the Tbilisi State University. Kalatozov studied economics and changed many professions before starting his film career as an actor and later — as a cinematographer. He directed several documentary films, including Their Kingdom and Salt for Svanetia. In 1933 he enrolled to the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts. In 1936 he headed the Kartuli Pilmi film studio, then he was suggested a place at the USSR State Committee for Cinematography. In 1939 he moved to Leningrad to work at the Lenfilm studio as a film director. During World War II he directed several propaganda films and worked as a cultural attaché at the Soviet embassy in the United States. During the 1950s he directed several other films. His four final features, The Cranes Are Flying, The Unsent Letter, I Am Cuba, and The Red Tent, are among his most famous works. The first three movies are often praised for the masterful camerawork by the Russian cinematographer Sergey Urusevsky. The Cranes Are Flying became one of the leaders of the 1957 Soviet box office and won several international awards, including Palme d'Or at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival. The Red Tent was a joint Soviet-Italian effort and featured an international team of actors, including Peter Finch, Sean Connery, Claudia Cardinale, Hardy Krüger, Nikita Mikhalkov and others. It was nominated for the 1972 Golden Globe award as the best English-language foreign film. During the 1990sI Am Cuba was discovered by American film professionals and showed to Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola who became so impressed with the production that they advocated the restoration and distribution of the movie that was conducted by Milestone Films. In 1995 it was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best International Film. Kalatozov was married to Zhanna Valachi, daughter of the Italian consul. They met in Batumi during vacation. In 1929 Zhanna gave a birth to their son Georgi and became a naturalized citizen of the Soviet Union. Georgi followed his father's steps and worked as a cinematographer and film director at the Kartuli Pilmi studio, and so did his grandson — Mikhail Kalatozishvili who also became a successful Russian film director and producer. Mikhail Kalatozov died in Moscow on March 27, 1973 after his seventh heart attack and was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery. Mikhail Kalatozishvili founded a non-commercial Mikhail Kalatozov Fund named after his grandfather to help with film preservation and with funding of new movies.
