Mikhail Konstantinovich Kalatozov (28 December 1903 – 27 March 1973), born Mikheil Kalatozishvili, was a Soviet film director of Georgian origin who contributed to both Georgian and Russian cinema. He is most well known for his films The Cranes Are Flying and Soy Cuba. In 1969, he received the People’s Artist of the USSR accolade. His film The Cranes Are Flying won the Palme d’Or at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival. 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 (with Nutsa Gogoberidze, the first Georgian female film director)[2] and Salt for Svanetia (1930).

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.