Karen Shakhnazarov

Karen Georgievich Shakhnazarov (Russian: Каре́н Гео́ргиевич Шахназа́ров; born 8 July 1952) is a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, producer and screenwriter.[1] He became the director general of Mosfilm in 1998.

Karen Shakhnazarov
Karen Shakhnazarov in 2019.
Born
Karen Georgievich Shakhnazarov

(1952-07-08) 8 July 1952
Krasnodar, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Alma materGerasimov Institute of Cinematography
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter
Years active1980 – present
TitlePeople's Artist of Russia (2002) (2023)

Biography

Shakhnazarov is the son of a Georgy Shakhnazarov, a politician of Armenian descent, and a Russian housewife, Anna Grigorievna Shakhnazarova.[2][3]

His 1987 film Courier was entered into the 15th Moscow International Film Festival, where it won a Special Prize.[4] In 2002 he was a member of the jury at the 24th Moscow International Film Festival.[5] Since 2005 he has been a member of the Public Chamber of Russia.

His 2012 film White Tiger was selected as the Russian entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards, but it did not make the final shortlist.[6]

Personal life

In March 2014 he signed a letter in support of the position of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin on the situation in Ukraine and Crimea.[7] For this he was banned from entering Ukraine.[8]

On 10 March 2022, during a broadcast on Russia-1, Shakhnazarov, who initially supported the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine,[9] called for an end to it, saying that the situation was at risk of becoming "an absolute humanitarian disaster", and that there is no realistic possibility for the Russian forces to seize Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities.[10]

Selected filmography
Year English title Original title
1984 We Are from Jazz Мы из джаза
1985 Winter Evening in Gagra Зимний вечер в Гаграх
1987 The Messenger Boy Курьер
1988 Zero City Город Зеро
1991 The Assassin of the Tsar Цареубийца
1993 Dreams Сны
1995 American Daughter Американская дочь
1998 Day of the Full Moon День полнолуния
2001 Poisons or the World History of Poisoning Яды, или Всемирная история отравлений
2004 The Rider Named Death[11][12] Всадник по имени смерть
2008 Vanished Empire Исчезнувшая империя
2009 Ward Number 6 Палата № 6
2012 White Tiger Белый тигр
2017 Anna Karenina: Vronsky's Story Анна Каренина
2023 Khitrovka. The Sign of Four Хитровка. Знак четырёх

Genealogy

Karen Shakhnazarov is one of several living descendants of the famous Melik-Shahnazarian princely family from Nagorno-Karabakh. The Melik-Shahnazarians ruled Nagorno-Karabakh's province of Varanda in medieval and modern times.[13]

References
  1. Peter Rollberg (2016). Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema. US: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 660–661. ISBN 978-1442268425.
  2. Karen Shakhnazarov on the Life Line talk show by Russia-K, 2010
  3. Profile on the Snob journal (in Russian)
  4. "15th Moscow International Film Festival (1987)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  5. "24th Moscow International Film Festival (2002)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 28 March 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
  6. "Karen Shakhnazarov's "White Tiger"nominated for Oscar". PanArmenian. 20 September 2012. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  7. "Culture activists of Russia in support of the position of the President on Russia's military intervention in Ukraine and Crimea" (in Russian). Russian Ministry of Culture. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  8. SBU issues entry ban against 140 Russian artists, UNIAN (5 November 2016)
    Ukraine’s State Security Service bans 140 Russian cultural figures from entering country, TASS news agency (5 November 2016)
  9. "Карен Шахназаров: «Спецоперация на Украине была неизбежна»". regnum. 24 February 2022.
  10. "Russian state television goes off message by broadcasting criticism of war". The Telegraph. 10 March 2022. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022.
  11. "The Rider Named Death (2004)". Rotten Tomatoes.
  12. "The Rider Named Death". Metacritic.
  13. Карен ШАХНАЗАРОВ: «Я не экранизирую свою жизнь» Archived 28 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine
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