Soviet filmmakers like Sergei Eisenstein and Andrei Tarkovsky have always played a major role in the development of cinema. In fact, both Tarkovsky and Eisenstein are considered to be some of the greatest directors in film history.

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But that's all in the past as the Soviet Union has long been non-existent. Since its break up, the post-Soviet country has been developing its own film industry which is why the new Russian directors emerged. Some of them are finding success in their home country while others are even winning some awards abroad. In any case, there are definitely some great modern Russian filmmakers to consider when talking about modern European cinema.

Andrey Zvyagintsev

Andrey Zvyagintsev Movies

One of the most prominent directors abroad and a not-so-beloved figure in Russia, Andrey Zvyagintsev paints a cold image of modern Russia in his films examining characters and situations anyone could find themselves in.

After directing a TV series in 2000, Zvyagintsev made his feature directorial debut in 2003 with The Return which won the Golden Lion and Best First Film awards at Venice and was nominated for the Best Foreign Film Golden Globe. His next film The Banishment was nominated for the Palme d'Or and won the Best Actor award at Cannes while 2011's Elena then won the Special Jury Prize at the festival. Leviathan was nominated for the Palme d'Or, won the Best Screenplay Award at Cannes, won the Best Foreign Film Golden Globe, and was nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar while Loveless was nominated for the Palme d'Or, won the Jury Prize at Cannes, and was nominated for the Best Foreign Film Golden Globe and Academy Award. In other words, every single film that Zvyagintsev directed has been honored by one of the major award shows or festivals.

Nikolai Lebedev

Nikolai Lebedev

Born in Kishinev which is the modern-day capital of Moldova Chisinau, Nikolai Lebedev began his career in the late 1990s achieving relative success. In the 2000s, he got more critical acclaim for such movies as The Star, Wolfhound, and Soundtrack of Passion.

Lebedev's success continued in the 2010s with the release of 2013's Legend № 17 which won six Golden Eagle Awards (the Russian equivalent of Golden Globes) and 2016's Flight Crew which was the second Russian movie released in IMAX and won five Golden Eagle Awards.

Aleksey Fedorchenko

Aleksey Fedorchenko

Born in Yekaterinburg, Aleksey Fedorchenko began his career in the early 2000s, but quickly made a name for himself by directing both feature films and documentaries.

His 2004 feature directorial debut, the sci-fi mockumentary First on the Moon won the Venice Horizons Documentary Award at the Venice Film Festival. 2010's Silent Souls was nominated for the Golden Lion and won multiple awards at Venice while the latest 2018 drama Anna's War won the Best Film and Best Director Golden Eagle Awards as well as the Best Film and Best Actress Nika Awards (the Russian equivalent of Academy Awards).

Valery Todorovsky

Valery Todorovsky

The son of the Russian director Pyotr Todorovsky, Valery Todorovsky was born in Odesa, Ukraine. Todorovsky began his career as a screenwriter in the late 1980s and debuted as a director in 1990, achieving some success.

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His 1998 acclaimed crime movie Country of the Deaf premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and won the Golden Eagle Award for Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Sound Design. Todorovsky's most well-known work, 2008's cult musical Hipsters was shown at multiple foreign festivals where it was an audience favorite and won four Golden Eagle Awards (including Best Film) and four Nika Awards (also including Best Film).

Andrei Kravchuk

Andrei Kravchuk

Born in Leningrad which is now Saint Petersburg in Russia, Andrei Kravchuk initially studied mathematics and was about to complete his master's thesis when he met two filmmakers - Aleksei German and Vladimir Vengerov - who found him a job as an assistant to another director.

Kravchuk made his directorial debut in 2000 with The Christmas Miracle which he co-directed with Yury Feting. His next movie was the critically-acclaimed The Italian which won multiple festival awards and was submitted as Russia's entry for the Academy Awards but wasn't nominated. Kravchuk's next film Admiral was commercially successful but divided critics and yet went on to win four Golden Eagle Awards out of the eight nominations it got.

Aleksei Balabanov

Aleksei Balabanov

A somewhat controversial figure, Aleksei Balabanov was one of the most prominent modern Russian directors until his tragic death in 2013. Because of the grittiness of his works and the controversy that often surrounded them, Balabanov was compared to Lars von Trier and the Coen brothers.

His career began in the late 1980s, but his true success came in 1997 with the release of the cult classic Brother (Balabanov would also direct its equally-acclaimed sequel in 2000). His next film Of Freaks and Men won the Nika Award for Best Film while his last work Me Too earned him the Best Director Award at the Saint Petersburg International Film Festival. His other acclaimed yet controversial works include War, Cargo 200, Morphine, and A Stoker.

Yuri Bykov

Yuri Bykov

Beginning his career as an actor in the late 2000s, Yuri Bykov later transitioned to directing and became known for his critically-acclaimed, award-winning works.

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His first major success was 2013's The Major which was screened at the Cannes Film Festival as part of the International Critics' Week and won the Nika Awards for Best Supporting Actor and Best Director. 2014's The Fool was critically acclaimed and won the Best Screenplay Nika Award while the 2015 television series The Method won three TEFI Awards including Best TV Series (the Russian equivalent of Emmy Awards).

Alexander Sokurov

Alexander Sokurov

At the moment, Alexander Sokurov is probably one of the most well-known Russian directors internationally. His career began in the late 1980s with his second feature film 1987's The Lonely Voice of Man nominated for the Nika Award.

1999's Moloch was nominated for the Palme d'Or and won the Best Screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival while 2001's Taurus was also nominated for the Palme d'Or and won three Nika Awards (including for Best Director). Perhaps his most famous work, 2002's Russian Ark won the Visions Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, was nominated for the Palme d'Or and the Nika Award for Best Film. After that, Father and Son won the FIPRESCI award at Cannes, Alexandra was nominated for the Palme d'Or, and Faust won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and two Nika Awards for Best Film and Best Director.

Andrei Konchalovsky

Andrei Konchalovsky

Another Russian director successful internationally, Andrei Konchalovsky's career began in the 1960s when he worked with Andrei Tarkovsky as a screenwriter on his films Ivan's Childhood and Andrei Rublev.

Konchalovsky's first major success was 1979's Siberiade which won the Grand Prix at Cannes. 1985's Runaway Train (based on a story by Akira Kurosawa) was nominated for the Palme d'Or, three Golden Globes (winning for Best Actor), and three Academy Awards. In the 2000s-2010s, Konchalovsky directed House of Fools (won Special Jury Prize at Venice and nominated for Best Foreign Film Oscar), The Postman's White Nights (won Silver Lion for Best Director at Venice), Paradise (won Silver Lion for Best Director and nominated for Golden Lion at Venice), and Dear Comrades! (selected as the Russian entry for the Academy Awards).

Nikita Mikhalkov

Nikita Mikhalkov

Starting out as an actor in the early 1960s, Nikita Mikhalkov eventually transitioned to directing still regularly gets involved in the filmmaking process of major Russian productions.

After directing a number of short films, Mikhalkov debuted with 1974's At Home Among Strangers which is now considered a classic. Several films that followed won minor awards, but the next breakthrough came in 1987 with Dark Eyes which won the Best Actor award at Cannes and was nominated for Best Foreign Film Golden Globe and Best Actor Academy Award. In the 1990s and onwards, Close to Eden (aka Urga) won the Golden Lion at Venice and was nominated for Best Foreign Film Golden Globe and Oscar, Burnt by the Sun won the Grand Prix at Cannes and the Best Foreign Film Oscar, and 12 was nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar.

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