Kantemir Arturovich Balagov is a Russian film director of Circassian descent, screenwriter and cinematographer from the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, in the North Caucasian region of the Russian Federation.
11 Facts About Kantemir Balagov
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Kantemir Balagov has directed the films Closeness and Beanpole.
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Kantemir Balagov's mother is a chemistry and biology teacher who works as the head teacher at a local school, while his father is a local entrepreneur.
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Since childhood, Kantemir Balagov had been watching mainstream movies, and at the age of 18 began to create his own small videos.
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Kantemir Balagov did not originally plan to pursue a career as a filmmaker, but decided to apply for the cinema workshop led by Alexander Sokurov at Kabardino-Balkarian State University in Nalchik.
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Kantemir Balagov missed the deadline to enter the university as a freshman, but he still wrote to Sokurov asking Sokurov to consider his application.
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Kantemir Balagov eventually was accepted to the workshop as a third-year student.
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Kantemir Balagov graduated from university after studies in Sokurov's workshop.
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In 2019, Kantemir Balagov received the Cannes Film Festival Un Certain Regard Award for Best Director and FIPRESCI prize for the film Beanpole.
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In January 2021, Kantemir Balagov was named as the director of the pilot for The Last of Us television adaptation.
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When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24,2022, Kantemir Balagov condemned the war and left Russia for exile in California.