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Andrey Zvyagintsev

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Andrey Zvyagintsev
Андрей Звягинцев
Zvyagintsev in 2026
Born
Andrey Petrovich Zvyagintsev

(1964-02-06) 6 February 1964 (age 62)
Novosibirsk, RSFSR, Soviet Union
EducationRussian Institute of Theatre Arts
OccupationFilmmaker
Years active1992–present
SpouseAnna Matveeva
Children1

Andrey Petrovich Zvyagintsev (Russian: Андрей Петрович Звягинцев, pronounced [ˈzvʲæɡʲɪntsɨf]; born 6 February 1964) is a Russian filmmaker. His films usually explore Russian society and politics in the 21st century, featuring bleak atmosphere and neo-noir style.

His debut film The Return (2003) won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. Leviathan (2014), Loveless (2017) and Minotaur (2026) won him the Best Screenplay, the Jury Prize and the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, respectively. Leviathan and Loveless were also nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film representing Russia.

Early years and education

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Zvyagintsev was born in Novosibirsk, Siberia. At the age of 20 in 1984, he graduated from the theater school in Novosibirsk as an actor. Since 1986, he has lived in Moscow where he continued his studies at the Russian Institute of Theatre Arts until 1990. From 1992 to 2000, he worked as an actor for film and theater. In 2000, he began to work for the TV station REN TV and directed three episodes of the television series The Black Room.

Career

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His directing debut feature film, The Return (2003), about two teenage boys and their estranged father, had its world premiere at the main competition of the 60th Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Golden Lion. It was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Non-English Language Film. It was also selected as the Russian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 76th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.

His second feature film, The Banishment (2007), had its world premiere at the main competition of the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or and won the Best Actor award.[1]

His 2011's Elena (2011), had its world premiere at the Un Certain Regard section of the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Special Jury Prize.[2][3] It also won the Grand Prix at Film Fest Gent.

Zvyagintsev in 2016

His fourth feature film, Leviathan (2014), had its world premiere at the main competition of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival,[4] where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or and won the Best Screenplay award.[5] It was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Non-English Language Film and the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film representing Russia. It also won the award for Best Film at the 8th Asia Pacific Screen Awards. In 2015, Zvyagintsev was a jury president of the 18th Shanghai International Film Festival.

His fifth feature film, Loveless (2017), had its world premiere at the main competition of the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or and won the Jury Prize.[6] It later won the Best Film at the 2017 London Film Festival, making him the second director to have won the award twice, having previously been honored for Leviathan.[7] In November 2017, the film won three awards at The Golden Unicorn Awards in London: Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Actress.[8] It was also nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Non-English Language Film and the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film representing Russia. Zvyagintsev won the Achievement in Directing award at the 11th Asia Pacific Screen Awards for Loveless.[9] In March 2018, it won the César Award for Best Foreign Film, making Zvyagintsev the first Russian director to win it. In 2018, Zvyagintsev was a jury member of the Cannes Film Festival.

At the time of his serious COVID-19 infection and long-term hospitalization in mid-2021, Zvyagintsev was working on his English-language feature-length debut, What Happened. The film was put on hold since his hospitalization. In 2023 Zvyagintsev moved to France where he began pre-production on an unrealized project about a Russian oligarch, Jupiter.[10] This film was ultimately shelved after failing to gain financing.[11]

His 2026 drama film Minotaur, was his first film filmed in exile, production took place in Latvia in late 2025.[12] In the backdrop of the Russo-Ukrainian war, it follows broken business executive Gleb discovering his wife Galina has been unfaithful.[11] The film had its world premiere at the main competition of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival,[13] where it received critical acclaim and won the Grand Prix.[14][15]

Personal life

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Andrei Zvyagintsev's first wife was the actress Irina Grinyova; the two divorced after six years of marriage. His second wife is the film editor Anna Matveeva.[16][17] They have a son, Pyotr (born in 2009).[18][19]

Zvyagintsev currently lives in exile in France since 2022.[20] He is a vocal critic of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[21]

Illness and recovery

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In June 2021, Zvyagintsev received the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine. He soon developed a high fever and was taken to a Moscow hospital, where he was admitted to intensive care. During his hospital stay he developed nosocomial sepsis from an antibiotic-resistant infection contracted while under Russian medical care.[22][23][24] He was transferred to a German hospital, where he was placed into an artificial coma. After Zvyagintsev's coma was lifted he developed a polyneuropathy that caused him to lose the ability to walk. In addition to paraplegia, the director could neither sit up nor speak as his throat ligaments had been injured. At one point his lungs' capacity to exchange gasses had fallen by 92% and Zvyagintsev's circulatory system was diverted into an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine (ECMO).[25] In all, Zvyagintsev was hospitalized for eleven months. He was discharged in May 2022 from a hospital in Wiesbaden, Germany.[21][22][23][24]

Political beliefs

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During the closing ceremony of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, while accepting the second place prize for Minotaur which follows a Russian wealthy family during the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian war in 2022, Zvyagintsev demanded directly to Russia's president Vladimir Putin to end “the butchery”, adding: “The only person who can stop this carnage is the President of the Russian Federation. Put an end to this slaughter; the whole world is waiting for it”.[26]

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In the Russian dark-comedy series The Last Minister (2020-2022), Alexander Gorchilin plays a fictional version of Zvyagintsev,[27] who is kidnapped by a secret government agency and forced to make a sequel to Leviathan as part of a psyop to bolster Russia's reputation as world's bleakest and scariest country.

Filmography

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Feature films

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Year English title Original title Notes
2003 The Return Возвращение Golden Lion at the 60th Venice International Film Festival
2007 The Banishment Изгнание
2011 Elena Елена Special Jury Prize of the Un Certain Regard section at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival
2014 Leviathan Левиафан Best Screenplay at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival
2017 Loveless Нелюбовь Jury Prize at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival
2026 Minotaur Минотавр Grand Prix at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival

Other credits

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  • The Black Room (TV series, 2000)
  • New York, I Love You ("Apocrypha" segment, 2009) – segment cut from theatrical release
  • Experiment 5IVE ("Mystery" segment, 2011)

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "Festival de Cannes: The Banishment". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
  2. ↑ Leffler, Rebecca (21 May 2011). "Un Certain Regard Announces Top Prizes (Cannes 2011)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
  3. ↑ "Festival de Cannes: Elena". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  4. ↑ "2014 Official Selection". Cannes. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  5. ↑ "Awards 2014 : Competition". Cannes. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  6. ↑ "The Latest: Cannes Honors 'A Gentle Night,' 'Loveless'". US News. 28 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  7. ↑ "Harvey Weinstein's Shadow Hangs Over London Film Festival Awards". What's Worth Seeing. 14 October 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  8. ↑ "The Golden Unicorn Awards Honour Film Makers For Second Year Running". Ikon London Magazine. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  9. ↑ "Australia's Sweet Country Wins Best Feature Film at 11th Asia Pacific Screen Awards". 23 November 2017.
  10. ↑ Croll, Ben (3 December 2023). "Andrey Zvyagintsev Will Tackle Oligarch Drama 'Jupiter' With New Creative Vision: 'I'm Hoping to Start From Scratch'". Variety. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  11. 1 2 Keslassy, Elsa (14 May 2025). "'Loveless' and 'Leviathan' Filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev Sets Next Movie 'Minotaur' With MK2, CG Cinema (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  12. ↑ Lavallée, Eric (2 April 2026). "Marriage, Power & Collapse: Mubi Backs Zvyagintsev's Political Fable 'Minotaur'". IONCINEMA.com. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  13. ↑ "Cannes unveils 2026 Official Selection". Screen. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  14. ↑ "Cannes unveils 2026 Official Selection - updating live". Screen. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  15. ↑ Bradshaw, Peter (19 May 2026). "Minotaur review – Andrei Zvyagintsev's scorching noir intrigue amid the Ukraine war". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  16. ↑ "На "Кинотавре" показали счастливых гастарбайтеров". MK. 4 June 2014.
  17. ↑ "Любимые женщины режиссера Звягинцева". Komsomolskaya Pravda. 4 February 2015.
  18. ↑ "Андрей Звягинцев: "Если я и шпион, то только русский"". Izvestia. 20 February 2015.
  19. ↑ "Дурной сон госзаказа". Kommersant. 26 October 2016.
  20. ↑ AFP (24 May 2026). "Russian Director Zvyagintsev Denounces Ukraine War 'Carnage' at Cannes Awards". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  21. 1 2 Oltermann, Philip (15 May 2026). "A year in hospital and 90% lung damage: how Andrey Zvyagintsev came back from Covid to Cannes". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  22. 1 2 "Началось все с вакцины Спутник". DTF. 12 May 2022.
  23. 1 2 ""Ходить самостоятельно я не могу": Андрей Звягинцев рассказал, как борется за свою жизнь". Teleprogramma. 13 May 2022.
  24. 1 2 ""Аня, звони в скорую, я умираю": режиссер Андрей Звягинцев рассказал, как боролся за жизнь после вакцинации и болезни". NGS. 13 May 2022.
  25. ↑ "Russian film director Andrey Zvyagintsev reportedly in medically-induced coma". Meduza. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  26. ↑ Bamigboye, Melanie Goodfellow, Baz (23 May 2026). "Andrey Zvyagintsev Calls On Russian President Vladimir Putin To End "The Butchery" In Cannes Grand Prize-Winning Speech". Deadline. Retrieved 24 May 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  27. ↑ "Лучшие российские сериалы первой половины 2022 года". Афиша (in Russian). Retrieved 11 March 2023.
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