Andrey Zvyagintsev

Born in Novosibirsk, Russia, Zvyagintsev always dreamed of becoming a big time movie star. He enrolled in acting school in Novosibirsk during his teens and graduated with a full knowledge of the craft at the age of 20. However, Zvyagintsev felt there was still more to learn about acting, and in the late '80s he enrolled at he Russian Theatre Academy in Moscow. The center of the Russian film world, Moscow was much more competitive than Zvyagintsev could have ever dreamed. After graduating from the Academy in the early '90s, he started going out for various film and TV auditions, but without any luck. He did appear as an extra in many low-budgets Russian films and TV shows, but after repeatedly failing to land parts with any substance, by the end of the decade Zvyagintsev quickly felt his acting dreams diminishing. As a result, he took a job directing daytime soap operas and Russian cop shows for REN TV. Zvyagintsev loved the work and found that he had a knack for directing actors, having spent the past two decades learning the craft through his own various struggles. He became such an effective TV director that in the early 2000s he was given the opportunity to direct a feature film. Zvyagintsev jumped at the chance to prove himself in the world of film, and in 2003 his directorial debut, "The Return," had its world premiere at Venice Film Festival. The film, about a father returning to his family after several years away, won the Golden Lion award, while putting Zvyagintsev on the map as an international director to watch. His next two films, "The Banishment" and "Elena," were equally as successful, the latter of which won the Special Jury Prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. For his fourth feature, Zvyagintsev decided to translate the biblical story of Job into contemporary times with "Leviathan." Ambitious and epic, "Leviathan" proved to be a monumental artistic achievement for Zvyagintsev, and earned the director the Best Screenplay award at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. The film was also nominated for the Palm d'Or, the festival's highest honor, and the second of Zvyagintsev's films to achieve such a feat.