Background
Aksella Luts was born Aksella Hildegard Kapsta in Moscow to Estonian parents.
Aksella Luts was born Aksella Hildegard Kapsta in Moscow to Estonian parents.
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.
In 1927, Theodor Luts founded Tartu iühing (Tartu 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, financed through a bank loan. The film would be Estonia"s first feature-length Estonian language sound film, co-produced by Erkki Karu of Finland"s Suomi-i and Theodor Lutsu iproduktsioon. In 1938, Theodor and Aksella moved to Helsinki, Finland, where Theodor hoped to further his education.
From 1938 until 1944, Aksella worked as screenwriter for Fenno-i OY under the masculine pen name Antti Metsalu.
Many of her scripts from the era were anti-Soviet Union in nature. In 1944, the couple moved to Stockholm, Sweden, where Aksella worked as a librarian and archivist at the Folk Universitetet.
Following World World War II and the annexation of Estonia by the Soviet Union, they relocated to the city of São Lourenço near São Paulo in the South Region of Brazil. In Brazil, the couple made a permanent home.
Following the death of Theodor Luts on 24 September 1980, Aksella remained in Brazil until 1996, when she returned to Estonia and settled in Pärnu.
She died in Pärnu in 2005, age 99, and was cremated. Her ashes were buried next to her husband in São Paulo Lourenço, Brazil.
She gave frequent television and radio interviews and was made an Honorary Member of Eesti Kinoliit (Estonian maker"s Association).