Ahead of the Cannes premieres of Academy Award Nominated Ari Folman’s Where is Anne Frank and Kira Kovalenko’s Unclenching the Fists, prominent Russian producer Alexander Rodnyansky, whose films have been nominated for Academy Awards four times, announces a slate of feature films set for production in 2021/2022.
Rodnyansky’s plans include the next film from Kantemir Balagov (Beanpole), the first ever English-language film by Andrey Zvyagintsev (Leviathan, Loveless), and a documentary by Godfrey Reggio which Rodnyansky will co-produce alongside Academy Award Winner Steven Soderbergh.
Balagov will direct his next feature film Monica after he wraps on HBO’s “Last of Us” for showrunner Craig Mazin. Monica will be Balagov’s third film, following his two Cannes-awarded features Closeness which won the Festival’s International Critics’ Prize and Beanpole, which in 2019 won the Un Certain Regard Best Director Award and the FIPRESCI Prize for Best Film. Monica tells a story of complex relationship between father and son, in which the son imbues his father with qualities he doesn’t actually possess. The script is co-written by Balagov and Russian best-selling author Marina Stepnova.
“It is always a special pleasure to see how Kantemir creates the script. We began discussing the idea of Monica almost immediately after the premiere of Beanpole. Kantemir always begins by thinking about the story and the world in which it takes place, the complex characters that inhabit this world. And once the idea of the film has fully formed, he joins forces with an experienced novelist to flesh it out, to infuse the world with details and texture and nuances. As always, the story he is about to share with the world is very personal, at once tender and heart-wrenching,” said Rodnyansky.
What Happens is Andrey Zvyagintsev’s first English-language film produced by Rodnyansky, and will be shot in the US. Written by Oleg Negin, What Happens is the world-renowned director’s contemplation on the nature of human relationships, the state of modern man, and the fragility of human life. Rodnyansky and Zvyagintsev collaborated on Leviathan and Loveless, both of which were nominated for an Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
“After Andrey finished working on Loveless, which I always thought was the final film of our Russian trilogy, we took a break. Only last year we have been discussing our potential future plans and finally decided that our next film would be in English. It has always been my belief that Andrey’s work, in its incredible analysis of human nature, is absolutely universal in its core and transitioning to English – the universal language today’s global society – will help him reach broader audience,” Rodnyansky said.
Told in Godfrey Reggio’s signature impressionistic style of documentary art, the upcoming NEOOONOWWW is described as a fairy tale for the young and young at heart, focused on the forging of a new culture in a world threatened by ecological collapse and unprecedented technological transformation. The film will be directed by Godfrey Reggio with music by Philip Glass and co-produced by Steven Soderbergh and Rodnyansky.
Rodnyansky explains: “When Steven reached out to me and told me about Godfrey Reggio’s new film, I never doubted for a second that this is a chance that I absolutely cannot miss. I have always been a passionate admirer of Godfrey’s films and it is an honor for me to collaborate with him and Steven on this project.”
