Culture institutions, officials send tributes after death of actor, journalist Nugzar Sharia

Georgian cultural institutions and officials on Friday sent their tributes to the life and career of acclaimed actor and journalist Nugzar Sharia, who died at the age of 81 in the United States on Thursday. 

The culture ministry paid homage to the cinema actor and TV personality who left the Soviet Union in 1970 to request asylum first in Europe and then in the US, by celebrating his film characters and the title of Meritorious Artist of Georgia.

Saying he was “deeply saddened” by the death of Sharia, Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili noted the actor would be “remembered by generations with his unforgettable roles”, and called him an “outstanding figure” of Georgian culture. 

Born during World War II, Sharia earned his first acting role as a teenager and was featured in a number of celebrated films by postwar Georgian directors, including Khevisberi Gocha and Abesalom and Eteri.

Receiving filmmaking training in St Petersburg, Russia, Sharia’s very first directorial work Midday fell victim to Soviet censorship, preventing him from opportunities to continue his work on return to Georgia.

Nugzar Sharia featuring in Khevisberi Gocha. 

The developments lead to his departure to Cuba in 1970 as a tourist, a trip he never returned from. The escape led to the actor being branded a traitor and sentenced to being shot, as he requested asylum in France, where he started work in the Paris office of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

The work led to his move in 1971 to New York, where he continued his work as a journalist in radio Voice of America and taught filmmaking at New York and Columbia universities. He also worked for television channels in Washington and New York, and for the New York Times.

His artistic work earned recognition for musical direction for Broadway productions, and his selection as the jury chair for the Academy Awards in 2020, after nomination by Steven Spielberg. Sharia’s work experience also involved collaborations with dozens of established directors including Walt Disney.