The New Yorker profiles Andrey Zvyagintsev, the exiled Russian director of the Cannes Grand Prix-winning film ‘Minotaur’

Andrey Zvyagintsev’s film *Minotaur* is described as the first independent feature about Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine made by a Russian director. A profile of the exiled filmmaker explores how his unsparing depictions of Russian life and careful attention to what appears within each frame shape his work.

The profile draws on conversations with Zvyagintsev, his producers and actors, and film critics. Actress Iris Lebedeva recalled that even the tree outside a café and the cups in a scene were chosen to serve the larger composition. Zvyagintsev came from a family outside the cultural elite, studied acting rather than directing, and was influenced by Western art films he saw during perestroika.