Aksella Luts
| Aksella Luts | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Aksella Hildegard Kapsta 10 November 1905 Moscow, Russian Empire |
| Died | 8 January 2005 (aged 99) Pärnu, Estonia |
| Other names | Antti Metsalu |
| Occupation | Actress, screenwriter, dancer, choreographer |
| Years active | 1924–2005 |
| Spouse(s) | Theodor Luts (m. 1924; d. 1980) |
Aksella Hildegard Luts (10 October 1905 - 8 January 2005) was an Estonian actress, screenwriter, dancer and choreographer.
Aksella Luts was born Aksella Hildegard Kapsta in Moscow to Estonian parents Martin Kapsta and Maria Kapsta (née Mark). She was the middle child of three siblings; her sister Erica Regina was born in 1903 and her brother Alfred was born in 1911. Her parents returned to Estonia when she was quite young. She attended secondary school in Tartu, graduating in 1924 before attending dance classes in Tartu and then the Union des Professeurs de Danse de France (UDPDF) in Paris, where she studied modern dance. She married Estonian future filmmaker Theodor Luts (younger brother of writer Oskar Luts) at age 19 and the two opened a dance studio in Tartu.
In 1927, Theodor Luts founded Tartu Filmiühing (Tartu Film Society) and using the knowledge he had gained from filmmakers in Paris and Berlin, the couple began writing the script for the patriotic silent film Noored kotkad (Young Eagles), which was Estonia's first feature-length dramatic historical film. It was financed through a bank loan. The film was a dramatic telling of the Estonian War of Independence of 1918-1920 and was filmed in Tartu, Mustvee and Värska in the summer of 1927. Theodor directed, acted as cinematographer and had several small roles in the film. Aksella appeared in the film as an actress and was the film's make up artist.Noored kotkad is generally regarded as the cornerstone of Estonian cinema.
After Theodor made several silent film nature and cultural documentaries for Eesti Kultuurfilm, the couple would co-write the script for the 1932 melodrama Päikese lapsed (The Children Of The Sun). The film would be Estonia's first feature-length Estonian language sound film; it was co-produced by Erkki Karu of Finland's Suomi-Filmi and Theodor Lutsu Filmiproduktsioon. Theodor would again direct and Aksella would choreograph a dance routine, while Estonian actor Ants Eskola would have a starring role.
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