Nikolai Ekk was born on June 14, 1902 in Riga, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire [now Latvia]. He was a director and writer, known for Road to Life (1931), Sorochynskyi yarmarok (1939) and Odni znakomye (1934). He died on July 13, 1976 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia].
Soviet director, who learned his craft under Eisenstein and Pudovkin. Never prolific, he is nonetheless remembered for directing the first Russian sound film (The Road to Life) and the first colour film (Nightingale).