Russia has declared director Andrei Zvyagintsev a “foreign agent“, Reuters reported. He is included in the register of foreign agents, according to data published on the website of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, TASS reported, BTA reported.
As a reason for its decision, the Ministry of Justice indicated that Zvyagintsev participated in the creation of materials about foreign agents and organizations whose activities are declared undesirable in Russia. These materials were intended for an unlimited circle of people.
The department also reported that the director “spread false information about decisions made by public authorities of the Russian Federation and about the work carried out by them politics“, and that “he interacted with foreign agents and lives outside the borders of the Russian Federation“.
Andrei Zvyagintsev emigrated to France after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In May this year, the director's new film - the political thriller “Minotaur“, won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.
Two days ago, France nominated “Minotaur“ for the “Oscar“ award in the “Best International Film“ category. “Minotaur“ is a co-production between France, Latvia and Germany, and the filming took place in Riga. Since the film was financed and produced mainly by the French side, it is France that is raising it as its official proposal for the awards “Oscar“.
Accepting the award in Cannes, Zvyagintsev came out with an anti-war message: “Millions of people on both sides of the contact line are currently dreaming of only one thing: to finally stop the countless killings of people. And the only person who can stop this meat grinder is you, Mr. President of the Russian Federation. Stop this slaughter now. The whole world is waiting for this“, said Zvyagintsev. The hall greeted his words with applause.