Aleksei Oktyabrinovich Balabanov (Russian: РлeÐºÑ eй
OÐºÑ‚Ñ Ð±pинoвич Ð'алабанoв; 25 February 1959 â€" 18 May
2013) was a Russian film director, screenwriter, and producer, who
shot mostly arthouse pictures but gained mainstream popularity with
the crime drama Brother (1997) and its more action-oriented sequel,
Brother 2 (2000), both of which starred Sergei Bodrov, Jr. as Danila
Bagrov. Brother was successful both at the box office and in video
copies, achieving wide popularity in Russia. Later, however, Balabanov
became better known for his films Cargo 200 (2007) and Morphine
(2008). A hugely controversial figure, Balabanov was often accused of
both Russian nationalism (Brother 2, War) and Russophobia (Cargo 200,
The Stoker), as well as general misanthropy. Due to his personal and
political controversy, grotesque style, dark humour, shocking
naturalism, genre deconstruction, and balancing between art cinema and
mainstream he was often compared to Lars von Trier, Rainer Werner
Fassbinder, Coen brothers, and Takeshi Kitano.Aleksei Oktyabrinovich
Balabanov was born on 25 February 1959, in Sverdlovsk (now
Yekaterinburg).In 1981 Balabanov graduated from Translation Department
of the Gorky Pedagogical University of Foreign Languages [ru]. He then
served in the Soviet Army as an officer-interpreter. After his
discharge, from 1983 to 1987 he worked as an assistant film director
at Sverdlovsk Film Studio. Balabanov shot his first film in 1987, in
the Urals. The script of the film was written overnight. This
low-budget work was filmed in a restaurant. Later Balabanov studied at
the experimental workshop "Auteur Cinema" (Russian: Ð Ð²Ñ‚Ð¾Ñ€Ñ ÐºÐ¾Ðµ
кино) of the High Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors,
graduating in 1990. In 1994 Balabanov together with Sergey Selyanov
and Viktor Sergeyev founded the production company CTV.
OÐºÑ‚Ñ Ð±pинoвич Ð'алабанoв; 25 February 1959 â€" 18 May
2013) was a Russian film director, screenwriter, and producer, who
shot mostly arthouse pictures but gained mainstream popularity with
the crime drama Brother (1997) and its more action-oriented sequel,
Brother 2 (2000), both of which starred Sergei Bodrov, Jr. as Danila
Bagrov. Brother was successful both at the box office and in video
copies, achieving wide popularity in Russia. Later, however, Balabanov
became better known for his films Cargo 200 (2007) and Morphine
(2008). A hugely controversial figure, Balabanov was often accused of
both Russian nationalism (Brother 2, War) and Russophobia (Cargo 200,
The Stoker), as well as general misanthropy. Due to his personal and
political controversy, grotesque style, dark humour, shocking
naturalism, genre deconstruction, and balancing between art cinema and
mainstream he was often compared to Lars von Trier, Rainer Werner
Fassbinder, Coen brothers, and Takeshi Kitano.Aleksei Oktyabrinovich
Balabanov was born on 25 February 1959, in Sverdlovsk (now
Yekaterinburg).In 1981 Balabanov graduated from Translation Department
of the Gorky Pedagogical University of Foreign Languages [ru]. He then
served in the Soviet Army as an officer-interpreter. After his
discharge, from 1983 to 1987 he worked as an assistant film director
at Sverdlovsk Film Studio. Balabanov shot his first film in 1987, in
the Urals. The script of the film was written overnight. This
low-budget work was filmed in a restaurant. Later Balabanov studied at
the experimental workshop "Auteur Cinema" (Russian: Ð Ð²Ñ‚Ð¾Ñ€Ñ ÐºÐ¾Ðµ
кино) of the High Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors,
graduating in 1990. In 1994 Balabanov together with Sergey Selyanov
and Viktor Sergeyev founded the production company CTV.
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