Born in Novosibirsk in 1964, Andrey Zvyagintsev worked as an actor and in television before directing The Return (2003), which won the Golden Lion at Venice. His austere, quietly composed films draw on the Bible, Tarkovsky and Russian literature to study family, power and moral corruption. Elena (2011) is a story of class and murder, Leviathan (2014), a tale of a man whose land is seized by a corrupt mayor, won the Golden Globe for best foreign film, and Loveless (2017), about parents who neglect their missing son, won the Jury Prize at Cannes. He has lived outside Russia since 2022.
Filmography
- The Return (2003)
- The Banishment (2007)
- Elena (2011)
- Leviathan (2014)
- Loveless (2017)
- Minotaur (2026)