Draft:Alexander Zeldovich
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Submission declined on 11 August 2026 by FuzzyMagma (talk).
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This draft has been resubmitted and is currently awaiting re-review. |  |
Comment: also there is undisclosed WP:COI, probably an autobiography FuzzyMagma (talk) 15:45, 11 August 2026 (UTC)
- Comment: Notability looks solid, did you use AI to help write this draft? Accesscrawl (talk) 01:30, 11 August 2026 (UTC)
Alexander Zeldovich | |
|---|---|
Александр Зельдович | |
| Born | Alexander Yefimovich Zeldovich 4 December 1958 |
| Occupations | Film director, screenwriter, theatre director |
| Years active | 1983–present |
Alexander Yefimovich Zeldovich (Russian: Александр Ефимович Зельдович; born 4 December 1958) is a Russian film director, screenwriter and theatre director. His feature films include Sunset (1990), Moscow (2000), Target (2011) and Medea (2021).
His films have been presented at major international film festivals, including Berlin, Venice, San Sebastián, London, Telluride and Locarno.[1][2][3][4][5]
Early life and education
[edit]Alexander Zeldovich was born in Moscow on 4 December 1958. He studied at Moscow's specialised mathematics School No. 2 and graduated from the Department of Psychology of Moscow State University in 1980. For two years after graduation he worked as a psychologist in Moscow medical institutions.[6][7]
In 1982 he entered the High Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors, where he was a student of Gleb Panfilov and Alexander Mitta, graduating in 1986. Anatoly Vasiliev taught acting and work with actors on the course.[6] The philosopher Merab Mamardashvili was also among the teachers of the Higher Courses; film scholar Alyssa DeBlasio identifies Zeldovich as one of Mamardashvili's students there in the 1980s.[8]
Career
[edit]Zeldovich made his feature debut with Sunset (1990), based on the plays and prose of Isaac Babel. The film was shown in the Forum programme of the Berlin International Film Festival and, in 1991, at the San Sebastián International Film Festival.[2]
Sunset was shot by cinematographer Alexander Knyazhinsky, who had worked with Andrei Tarkovsky on Stalker.[9]
The score for Sunset was written by Leonid Desyatnikov and later turned into the concert work Sketches to Sunset.[10]
The screenplay for Zeldovich's second feature, Moscow (2000), was written with Vladimir Sorokin. Production stretched over three years: shooting began in 1997 and was interrupted by the 1998 Russian financial crisis.[11]
The film premiered in the Cinema del Presente programme of the 57th Venice International Film Festival and was subsequently shown at the London Film Festival and many others.[1]
Moscow opened in Russia on 25 January 2001 at the Rolan cinema in Moscow, where it screened simultaneously in two halls.[12] According to Zeldovich, the film remained in theatrical release for about two years.[13] Over time it acquired cult status.[14] Critic Andrei Plakhov later wrote that the film "was read as a summing-up of the decade".[15]
The score for Moscow was also written by Desyatnikov; the soundtrack received the Grand Prix of the International Film Music Biennale in Bonn. The film was also honoured with the Golden Aries award of the Russian Guild of Film Critics for best cinematography and best film score.[10]
In 2011 Zeldovich completed the science-fiction drama Target, again co-written with Sorokin. The film had its world premiere in the Panorama programme of the 61st Berlin International Film Festival and was later selected for the 38th Telluride Film Festival.[3][4]
Target attracted considerable attention from the international film press. Jonathan Romney of Sight and Sound called it "a fabulously imaginative work".[16] Reviewing the Telluride festival for The New York Times, A. O. Scott described Target as "an astonishing piece of visionary futurism" and noted that it was among the most polarising films of the festival.[17]
In 2012 Target won the Best Film award in the International Competition of the Fantaspoa festival in Porto Alegre.[18]
The film has also been the subject of academic study. DeBlasio devoted a chapter of her 2019 book The Filmmaker's Philosopher: Merab Mamardashvili and Russian Cinema to Target, reading the film in the context of the philosophy of Tolstoy and Mamardashvili and discussing, in particular, the "moral dangers of eternity".[8]
The score for Target was again written by Desyatnikov. A concert version of the music has been performed internationally, including by Kremerata Baltica with violinist Gidon Kremer and pianist Martha Argerich.[19]
In 2021 Zeldovich completed the feature film Medea, a contemporary interpretation of the Medea myth in which the action moves from present-day Russia to Israel. The film had its world premiere in the International Competition of the 74th Locarno Film Festival.[5]
Medea drew a notable and divided response from international critics. Jordan Cronk in Film Comment characterised it as provocative auteur cinema combining genre elements with psychological intimacy, and compared its energy and visceral impact to Andrzej Żuławski's Possession.[20] Nicholas Bell of IONCINEMA described the film as "a visual odyssey" and found the transposition of the myth to Israel productive, setting the monotheism of the Holy Land against the story's polytheistic roots.[21] Joseph Owen of The Upcoming called the adaptation bold and consistently tragic in register, singling out Alexander Ilkhovsky's cinematography and Alexey Retinsky's score, while suggesting that the film "will likely put off as many as it will enthrall".[22]
The score for Medea was recorded by the musicAeterna orchestra and choir and received the Mikael Tariverdiev prize for best film music at the Kinotavr festival and the White Elephant award for best film score.[23]
Theatre
[edit]In 2003 Zeldovich made his debut as a theatre director with a production of Othello at the Vsevolod Meyerhold Centre in Moscow, created together with the art group AES+F.[6]
On 22 June 2016, at the Stanislavsky Electrotheatre in Moscow, he premiered Psychosis, based on Sarah Kane's play 4.48 Psychosis, again in collaboration with AES+F. The music for the production was written by Dmitri Kourliandski. For the premiere, Elyse Dodgson, head of the international department of London's Royal Court Theatre, who had known Sarah Kane closely, came to Moscow; a public conversation between her and Zeldovich about the play and the production took place at the Electrotheatre.[24] The production remained in the repertoire until autumn 2025; the Electrotheatre programme lists performances on 17 and 18 October 2025.[25]
Selected filmography
[edit]| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Sunset | Feature film |
| 2000 | Moscow | Feature film; co-written with Vladimir Sorokin |
| 2011 | Target | Feature film; co-written with Vladimir Sorokin |
| 2021 | Medea | Feature film |
References
[edit]- 1 2 "Moscow". Variety. 25 September 2000. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
- 1 2 "39th Edition: Zabaltegi – New Directors". San Sebastián International Film Festival. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
- 1 2 "Mishen / Target". Berlin International Film Festival. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
- 1 2 "38th Telluride Film Festival Program Guide" (PDF). Telluride Film Festival. 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
- 1 2 "Locarno 2021 line-up guide: Piazza Grande and international competition titles". Screen Daily. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Александр Зельдович" (in Russian). Stanislavsky Electrotheatre. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
- ↑ Katsevich, Denis (10 August 2017). "Александр Зельдович, Биография". Peoples.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 3 September 2026.
- 1 2 DeBlasio, Alyssa (2019). "Alexander Zeldovich's Target (2011): Tolstoy and Mamardashvili on the Infinite and the Earthly". The Filmmaker's Philosopher: Merab Mamardashvili and Russian Cinema. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 124–146. doi:10.3366/edinburgh/9781474444484.003.0006. ISBN 9781474444484.
- ↑ "Stalker". The Criterion Collection. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
- 1 2 "Leonid A. Desyatnikov". Musical Academy. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
- ↑ "Алла Гербер и Александр Зельдович: Отцы и дети. Дочки-матери". Iskusstvo Kino (in Russian). October 2000. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
- ↑ "«Публика умнее, чем предсказывают критики»". InterMedia (in Russian). 14 February 2001. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
- ↑ "Позади «Москва»: к 20-летию окончания съемок легендарного русского фильма 90-х". Москвич Mag (in Russian). Retrieved 3 September 2026.
- ↑ "Назад в девяностые. В Москве покажут культовые фильмы эпохи". Argumenty i Fakty (in Russian). 20 February 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
- ↑ Plakhov, Andrei (24 June 2011). "Завтра будет снова как вчера". Kommersant Weekend (in Russian). Retrieved 3 September 2026.
- ↑ Romney, Jonathan (17 February 2011). "Strange energies from the east: Target, Innocent Saturday and The Fatherless". Sight and Sound. British Film Institute. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
- ↑ Scott, A. O. (6 September 2011). "Hiding Up in Telluride, Silver Mined on Screens". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
- ↑ "Fantaspoa anuncia os vencedores e apresenta filmes premiados". Nonada (in Portuguese). 28 May 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
- ↑ "Kremerata Baltica – Gidon Kremer – Martha Argerich". Philharmonie de Paris. 27 January 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
- ↑ Cronk, Jordan (23 August 2021). "Locarno 2021: Mass Appeal". Film Comment. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
- ↑ Bell, Nicholas (11 August 2021). "Medea — 2021 Locarno Film Festival Review". IONCINEMA. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
- ↑ Owen, Joseph (12 August 2021). "Locarno Film Festival 2021: Medea — Review". The Upcoming. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
- ↑ "Композитор Алексей Ретинский получил приз «Кинотавра» за лучшую музыку". BURO. (in Russian). 28 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
- ↑ "Elyse Dodgson on Sarah Kane". HowlRound Theatre Commons. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
- ↑ "Афиша — октябрь 2025" (in Russian). Stanislavsky Electrotheatre. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
External links
[edit]Category:1958 births Category:Living people Category:Russian film directors Category:Russian screenwriters Category:Russian theatre directors Category:Moscow State University alumni
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