His mother Claudia Chukhray took an active part in the collectivization and dekulakization of the Ukrainian SSR, then worked as an investigation officer at militsiya.

A decorated veteran of World War II, Chukhray's wartime experiences profoundly affected him and the majority of his films.

[4][6] At war's end, he studied filmmaking at VGIK, the course led by Sergei Yutkevich and Mikhail Romm, and then developed his skills as a director's assistant at the Kiev Film Studio.

Around the themes of love and the tragedy of war, the film received acclaim at home, earning the Lenin Prize.

At the 1960 Cannes Film Festival it was awarded a special jury prize for "high humanism and outstanding quality."

Grigory Chukhray and script co-writer Valentin Yezhov were also nominated for the 1961 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

It won the Grand Prix (in a tie with Kaneto Shindo's The Naked Island) at the 2nd Moscow International Film Festival.

In 1965, he founded and headed the Experimental Studio at Mosfilm that produced such films as White Sun of the Desert (1970), The Twelve Chairs (1971), Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future (1973), A Slave of Love (1976), and other popular movies.