Russia labels Cannes-winning director Andrey Zvyagintsev a ‘foreign agent’
Acclaimed Russian film director who won 2026 Grand Prix award at Cannes, has been critical of the war in Ukraine.
The winner of a prestigious Cannes Film Festival award has been declared a foreign agent by Russian authorities for his criticism of Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Acclaimed Russian film director Andrey Zvyagintsev was designated a “foreign agent” by the Kremlin on Friday, according to state news agency TASS.
Zvyagintsev won the 2026 Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival for, Minotaur, a film depicting a Russian businessman who is forced to decide which of his employees should be mobilised to go and fight in Ukraine.
The 62-year-old director, who has lived outside Russia since the COVID pandemic, is known for a series of other films including, The Return, The Banishment, and, Leviathan, a bleak portrayal of life in rural Russia.