San Francisco Frontiers - For exiled Russian director Zvyagintsev, triumph without belonging

But despite his triumphant return to filmmaking after a nine-year absence, and with his first feature produced in exile, a sense of displacement still hangs over the filmmaker's life.

Zvyagintsev, 62, who has made France his new home despite neither speaking French nor holding French citizenship, said he felt like a "guest" in the country.

"I don't know whether I will ever belong here," he said in an interview in Paris conducted in Russian, offering a rare glimpse beneath his guarded public persona.

In Minotaur, an adaptation of La Femme Infidele (The Unfaithful Wife) by French director Claude Chabrol, Zvyagintsev focuses on a ruthless businessman who suspects his wife of adultery, set against the backdrop of Russia's war in Ukraine.

Widely viewed as a favourite for the Palme d'Or, the film received the Grand Prix, finishing just behind Cristian Mungiu's Fjord.

It will be released in French cinemas on October 14.

As he accepted the Grand Prix for Minotaur, Zvyagintsev urged Russian leader Vladimir Putin to end the "carnage" in Ukraine, saying he was the only person who could bring the four-and-a-half-year war to an end.

But speaking to AFP, the director said that even Putin might no longer be in a position to stop the fighting any time soon.

"I understand that it is difficult for him to do that himself. Things have now gained such momentum that he could easily end up becoming the victim of such a decision."

- 'Outsider'-

Last month, Minotaur, produced primarily by French companies but filmed in Russian in Latvia, was selected to represent France at the 2027 Academy Awards, beating Antonin Baudry's The Battle of Gaulle, one of the year's biggest French box-office successes.

Zvyagintsev said he was grateful to France's Oscar committee and understood why some might have disagreed with the decision.

"I understand the criticism from the film community, which is entirely entitled to say: 'We have our own directors. What, we don't have French films?'" he said.

"But since that decision was made, I have no words other than gratitude for those who made it. Because it commands respect.

"It is a noble gesture to give way to another person who is, essentially, an outsider," he said.

Shortly after France announced its Oscar selection, Moscow designated Zvyagintsev a "foreign agent", making the director one of the most high-profile Russians to carry the label, alongside Dmitry Muratov, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning founder of Russia's independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta.

Used by Russian authorities to target critics, the designation carries social stigma and imposes legal restrictions.

The Oscar-nominated director of Leviathan and Loveless said he did not know whether the designation would affect his life and had little time to dwell on it, having spent the past month focused on promoting the film.

- 'Transformation of human nature' -

Zvyagintsev is known for the haunting beauty of his cinematography and exacting eye for detail.

During the interview, he wove literary and cinematic references into reflections on "Minotaur," saying he was fond of long sequences without dialogue and naming Italian director Marco Ferreri's nearly dialogue-free "Dillinger Is Dead" among his inspirations.

He turned to Greek mythology and Honore de Balzac's The Physiology of Marriage to elaborate on the title of his film.

He harbours no illusions about Minotaur's chances of securing a theatrical release in Russia, where sweeping censorship has been in place since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

But he said he would not object to viewers watching pirated versions of the film.

"Pirates have not gotten hold of the film yet, but I am sure they will very soon," he said.

Zvyagintsev left Russia for emergency medical treatment in 2021 and decided to remain in Europe after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

He paused for a long moment when asked whether he would like to return to Russia.

"The Russia I see today is not the Russia I left. The Russia I see today is not a country I would want to return to. I cannot imagine how I could identify myself with what is happening in my country. It is impossible," he said.

"I have read too much Russian classical literature not to recognise that a transformation of human nature is now plainly visible. And I want nothing to do with the face that transformation has taken."

I.Wright--SFF