Ilya Khrzhanovsky

Born in Moscow, USSR in 1975, the director and producer graduated from the Russian State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) in 1998. His debut film, 4, won a Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. He began work on DAU, a multi-disciplinary project at the intersection of cinema, art and anthropology, in 2006.

Meeting Andrei Tarkovsky (2008)

In honor of the twentieth anniversary of Andrei Tarkovsky's death, student filmmaker Dmitry Tarkovsky sets out in search of his favorite director's legacy. His journey leads him to fifteen moving interviews in California, Italy, Sweden, and finally, Russia as he ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Dmitriy Tarkovskiy
CAST:  Andrei Tarkovsky  •  Vyacheslav Ivanov  •  Angelo Perla  •  Domiziana Giordano

In honor of the twentieth anniversary of Andrei Tarkovsky's death, student filmmaker Dmitry Tarkovsky sets out in search of his favorite director's legacy. His journey leads him to fifteen moving interviews in California, Italy, Sweden, and finally, Russia as he ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Dmitriy Tarkovskiy
CAST:  Andrei Tarkovsky  •  Vyacheslav Ivanov  •  Angelo Perla  •  Domiziana Giordano

4 (2005)

Two men and a woman happen to meet in a bar. We learn from their conversations both the intriguing and banal details of their lives. But is anyone really telling the truth?  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky
CAST:  Yuri Laguta  •  Konstantin Murzenko  •  Sergey Shnurov  •  Marina Vovchenko

Two men and a woman happen to meet in a bar. We learn from their conversations both the intriguing and banal details of their lives. But is anyone really telling the truth?  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky
CAST:  Yuri Laguta  •  Konstantin Murzenko  •  Sergey Shnurov  •  Marina Vovchenko

DAU. Degeneration (2020)

A secret Soviet Institute conducts scientific and occult experiments on animals and human beings to create the perfect person. The KGB general and his aides turn a blind eye to erotic adventures of the director of the Institute, scandalous debauches of prominent ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Ilya Permyakov
CAST:  Vladimir Azhippo  •  Dmitry Kaledin  •  Olga Shkabarnya  •  Alexey Blinov

A secret Soviet Institute conducts scientific and occult experiments on animals and human beings to create the perfect person. The KGB general and his aides turn a blind eye to erotic adventures of the director of the Institute, scandalous debauches of prominent ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Ilya Permyakov
CAST:  Vladimir Azhippo  •  Dmitry Kaledin  •  Olga Shkabarnya  •  Alexey Blinov

DAU. Natasha (2020)

Natasha runs the canteen at a secret 1950s Soviet research institute. This is the beating heart of the DAU universe, everyone drops in here: the institute's employees, scientists and visiting foreign guests. Natasha's world is a small one, split between the demands ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Jekaterina Oertel
CAST:  Natalia Berezhnaya  •  Olga Shkabarnya  •  Vladimir Azhippo  •  Alexey Blinov

Natasha runs the canteen at a secret 1950s Soviet research institute. This is the beating heart of the DAU universe, everyone drops in here: the institute's employees, scientists and visiting foreign guests. Natasha's world is a small one, split between the demands ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Jekaterina Oertel
CAST:  Natalia Berezhnaya  •  Olga Shkabarnya  •  Vladimir Azhippo  •  Alexey Blinov

DAU. Nora Mother (2020)

Once just a girl from the provinces, Nora is now married to a successful scientist and lives together with her family within the confines of a secret and privileged Moscow institute. Nora is visited by her mother for the first time since her wedding. Her mother ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Jekaterina Oertel
CAST:  Lydia Shegoleva  •  Radmyla Shchoholyeva  •  Teodor Currentzis

Once just a girl from the provinces, Nora is now married to a successful scientist and lives together with her family within the confines of a secret and privileged Moscow institute. Nora is visited by her mother for the first time since her wedding. Her mother ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Jekaterina Oertel
CAST:  Lydia Shegoleva  •  Radmyla Shchoholyeva  •  Teodor Currentzis

DAU. Three Days (2020)

It is 1956. Dau is a distinguished Soviet scientist who meets up with the love of his youth – Maria, a Greek actress – during her three day visit to Moscow. They haven’t seen each other for 25 years. Dau is a successful and prosperous scientist, but feels ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Jekaterina Oertel
CAST:  Maria Nafpliotou  •  Radmila Shegoleva  •  Teodor Currentzis  •  Alexey Trifonov

It is 1956. Dau is a distinguished Soviet scientist who meets up with the love of his youth – Maria, a Greek actress – during her three day visit to Moscow. They haven’t seen each other for 25 years. Dau is a successful and prosperous scientist, but feels ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Jekaterina Oertel
CAST:  Maria Nafpliotou  •  Radmila Shegoleva  •  Teodor Currentzis  •  Alexey Trifonov

Stop (1999)

Metaphor: the train stopped, love stopped, life stopped, time stopped...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Artyom Mikhalkov  •  Ilya Khrzhanovsky
CAST:  Yakov Hitagurov  •  Yelena Zakharova

Metaphor: the train stopped, love stopped, life stopped, time stopped...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Artyom Mikhalkov  •  Ilya Khrzhanovsky
CAST:  Yakov Hitagurov  •  Yelena Zakharova

DAU. The Empire. Novel One: Return Of The Prodigal Son (2020)

«The Return of the Prodigal Son» is the first volume from the film (novel) of Anatoli Vassiliev’s «Empire» inside the Dau cycle. The story is about inner kinship, which is much closer than blood, about inevitable betrayal, about almost fatherly love and forgiveness ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Anatoly Vasiliev
CAST:  Anatoly Vasiliev  •  Teodor Currentzis  •  Inna Schorr  •  Mikhail Fikhtengolts

«The Return of the Prodigal Son» is the first volume from the film (novel) of Anatoli Vassiliev’s «Empire» inside the Dau cycle. The story is about inner kinship, which is much closer than blood, about inevitable betrayal, about almost fatherly love and forgiveness ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Anatoly Vasiliev
CAST:  Anatoly Vasiliev  •  Teodor Currentzis  •  Inna Schorr  •  Mikhail Fikhtengolts

DAU. Brave People (2020)

It is 1953, Stalin has just died. It is a troubled and uncertain period for the whole of the Soviet Union, particularly for the state security services. In the Institute, a secret research facility, the scientists continue their theoretical and experimental work. ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Alexey Slyusarchuk
CAST:  Andrey Losev  •  Alexey Blinov  •  Pavel Gordienko  •  Darya Berzhitskaya

It is 1953, Stalin has just died. It is a troubled and uncertain period for the whole of the Soviet Union, particularly for the state security services. In the Institute, a secret research facility, the scientists continue their theoretical and experimental work. ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Alexey Slyusarchuk
CAST:  Andrey Losev  •  Alexey Blinov  •  Pavel Gordienko  •  Darya Berzhitskaya

DAU. Nikita Tanya (2020)

Within the top secret Institute of Physics Problems, the scientist Nikita Nekrasov is visited by his wife and small children. While away from his family the physicist has managed to fall in love with other women. In open conversations with his spouse – in the ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Jekaterina Oertel
CAST:  Nikita Nekrasov  •  Tatyana Pyatina  •  Boris Nekrasov  •  Lia Nekrasova

Within the top secret Institute of Physics Problems, the scientist Nikita Nekrasov is visited by his wife and small children. While away from his family the physicist has managed to fall in love with other women. In open conversations with his spouse – in the ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Jekaterina Oertel
CAST:  Nikita Nekrasov  •  Tatyana Pyatina  •  Boris Nekrasov  •  Lia Nekrasova

DAU. String Theory (2020)

Nikita Nekrasov is a scientist, a theoretical physicist who studies our world and other possible worlds. He refuses to make a choice between mathematics and physics, between one woman and another, as he ponders the existence of the multi-universe. At scientific ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Alexey Slyusarchuk
CAST:  Ekaterina Yuspina  •  Svetlana Dragayeva  •  Nikita Nekrasov  •  Zoya Popova

Nikita Nekrasov is a scientist, a theoretical physicist who studies our world and other possible worlds. He refuses to make a choice between mathematics and physics, between one woman and another, as he ponders the existence of the multi-universe. At scientific ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Alexey Slyusarchuk
CAST:  Ekaterina Yuspina  •  Svetlana Dragayeva  •  Nikita Nekrasov  •  Zoya Popova

DAU. Katya Tanya (2020)

Katya, a young librarian, believes in love, but her ideals are crushed by reality. After a string of disappointing affairs, Katya finally finds tenderness and understanding in the arms of her colleague, a journalist called Tanya. But then the First Department ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Jekaterina Oertel
CAST:  Alexey Trifonov  •  Ekaterina Yuspina  •  Tatiana Polozhy  •  Alexander Efimov

Katya, a young librarian, believes in love, but her ideals are crushed by reality. After a string of disappointing affairs, Katya finally finds tenderness and understanding in the arms of her colleague, a journalist called Tanya. But then the First Department ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Jekaterina Oertel
CAST:  Alexey Trifonov  •  Ekaterina Yuspina  •  Tatiana Polozhy  •  Alexander Efimov

DAU. Sasha Valera (2020)

Sasha, a young janitor, notices a certain softness and kindness in an older janitor. In a small, secluded room, away from their colleagues, the two men waver between resisting and giving in to their feelings and desires, walking a tightrope between violent ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Jekaterina Oertel
CAST:  Alexandr Bozhik  •  Valery Andreev  •  Raisa Voloshchuk  •  Anatoly Sidko

Sasha, a young janitor, notices a certain softness and kindness in an older janitor. In a small, secluded room, away from their colleagues, the two men waver between resisting and giving in to their feelings and desires, walking a tightrope between violent ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Jekaterina Oertel
CAST:  Alexandr Bozhik  •  Valery Andreev  •  Raisa Voloshchuk  •  Anatoly Sidko

DAU. Conformists (2020)

Two scientists grow old and weary together in a secret Soviet Institute, their unconventional friendship the only consistency in a lifetime of personal and professional disappointments.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Alexey Slyusarchuk
CAST:  Alexey Blinov  •  Irina Titova  •  Maria Shtilmark  •  Fyodor Sofronov

Two scientists grow old and weary together in a secret Soviet Institute, their unconventional friendship the only consistency in a lifetime of personal and professional disappointments.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Alexey Slyusarchuk
CAST:  Alexey Blinov  •  Irina Titova  •  Maria Shtilmark  •  Fyodor Sofronov

DAU. New Man (2020)

Maxim and his comrades-in-arms are participating in top-secret experiments into the creation of a new man. The employees of the secret Institute are characterised by everything Maxim detests: alcoholism, depravity, weak will, loss of ideals, and lack of faith in ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Ilya Permyakov
CAST:  Maxim Martsinkevich  •  Vladimir Azhippo  •  Alexey Blinov  •  Andrey Chuenkov

Maxim and his comrades-in-arms are participating in top-secret experiments into the creation of a new man. The employees of the secret Institute are characterised by everything Maxim detests: alcoholism, depravity, weak will, loss of ideals, and lack of faith in ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Ilya Permyakov
CAST:  Maxim Martsinkevich  •  Vladimir Azhippo  •  Alexey Blinov  •  Andrey Chuenkov

DAU. Nora Son (2020)

Alienated from the rest of the scientific Institute in which they live, a lonely housewife and her teenage son break the ultimate taboo, with only their submissive maid to bear witness.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Jekaterina Oertel
CAST:  Anna Volkova  •  Radmyla Shchoholyeva  •  Nikolay Voronov

Alienated from the rest of the scientific Institute in which they live, a lonely housewife and her teenage son break the ultimate taboo, with only their submissive maid to bear witness.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Jekaterina Oertel
CAST:  Anna Volkova  •  Radmyla Shchoholyeva  •  Nikolay Voronov

The Legend of Siegfried (2020)

The film is about the long-term relationship between the director and the character of her first film, the French indie artist, musician and director Siegfried, known as Sig. The story is dedicated to the experience of growing up, emancipation and finding their own ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Svetlana Strelnikova
CAST:  Siegfried  •  Svetlana Strelnikova  •  Alexandr Rassohin  •  Arkadiy Veytskin

The film is about the long-term relationship between the director and the character of her first film, the French indie artist, musician and director Siegfried, known as Sig. The story is dedicated to the experience of growing up, emancipation and finding their own ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Svetlana Strelnikova
CAST:  Siegfried  •  Svetlana Strelnikova  •  Alexandr Rassohin  •  Arkadiy Veytskin

DAU. The Empire (2020)

«The Empire» is a film in the genre of a novel, in four books. «The Return of the Prodigal Son», «War and Peace», «The Big Bang», lasting 8.5 hours. These are the dialogues of the two protagonists — Krupitsa and Dau — and scenes from the life of the Institute of ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Anatoly Vasiliev
CAST:  Anatoly Vasiliev  •  Teodor Currentzis  •  Jekaterina Oertel  •  Radmyla Shchoholyeva

«The Empire» is a film in the genre of a novel, in four books. «The Return of the Prodigal Son», «War and Peace», «The Big Bang», lasting 8.5 hours. These are the dialogues of the two protagonists — Krupitsa and Dau — and scenes from the life of the Institute of ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Anatoly Vasiliev
CAST:  Anatoly Vasiliev  •  Teodor Currentzis  •  Jekaterina Oertel  •  Radmyla Shchoholyeva

DAU. Regeneration

A mathematician in a secret Soviet research Institute believes that ayahuasca is the key to unlocking all the potential of the quantum universe, but its nightmarish visions also foreshadow his tragic demise.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Ilya Permyakov
CAST:  Alexey Blinov  •  Dmitry Kaledin  •  Vladimir Azhippo  •  Anatoly Vasiliev

A mathematician in a secret Soviet research Institute believes that ayahuasca is the key to unlocking all the potential of the quantum universe, but its nightmarish visions also foreshadow his tragic demise.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky  •  Ilya Permyakov
CAST:  Alexey Blinov  •  Dmitry Kaledin  •  Vladimir Azhippo  •  Anatoly Vasiliev

DAU (2019)

Biographical film, epically depicting the life of the famous scientist Lev Landau.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky
CAST:  Teodor Currentzis  •  Radmila Shegoleva

Biographical film, epically depicting the life of the famous scientist Lev Landau.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ilya Khrzhanovsky
CAST:  Teodor Currentzis  •  Radmila Shegoleva