Zhora Kryzhovnikov is one of the non-trivial Russian directors and screenwriters of our time. He became known to a wide audience after the release of the comedy "Bitter!" Critics immediately called him a "modernist director." Prior to that, he shot short films and entertainment programs, including “Big Difference” and New Year's “Lights”.
Biography: early years
Zhora Kryzhovnikov was born on February 14, 1979 in Sarov, near Nizhny Novgorod. Previously, this closed city was called Arzamas-16. Zhora Kryzhovnikov is a creative pseudonym. The real name and surname is Andrey Pershin.
Childhood and early youth of Zhora passed in Sarov. Life in this city left a certain imprint on his subsequent work. So, Kryzhovnikov very accurately conveyed the spirit and flavor of the hinterland in his top-end comedies Gorko and Best Day.
After graduating from high school, Zhora moved to Moscow. In the capital, he entered the Moscow Art Theater School. However, he was soon expelled from there. This did not upset Zhora. The following year, he became a student in the direction department of GITIS, once in the workshop of Mark Zakharov. Kryzhovnikov still recalls his teacher with great respect. In one interview, he noted that Mark Zakharov was a great master for him and only thanks to him did he realize that his place was in the director’s chair, and not on stage or in the frame.
After GITIS, Zhora continued his education at VGIK. He entered the production department. Kryzhovnikov began to comprehend the basics and subtleties of producing under the leadership of Alexander Akopov. However, he never finished the faculty, because at that time he had already begun to work a lot in his specialty.
Career
In 2006, Kryzhovnikov tried himself on the stage as a stage director. His debut was the performance "Measure for Measure" at the APART Theater. He was staged based on a Shakespearean play. In the same year, Kryzhovnikov directed the production of "The Single Moliere" in the "School of Modern Play". Critics noted that the simplicity of this performance "has become sophistication." The brevity and defenselessness of the first works will later become the signature style of Kryzhovnikov.
In 2008, a financial crisis followed. Many theaters cut their budgets, and for this reason they refused new productions. In an interview, Kryzhovnikov recalled that at that time he had no work for about a year.
In 2010, he tied up with the theater. Kryzhovnikov traded it for television. His last theatrical work was the play "An old friend is better" based on a play by Ostrovsky. Critics then responded well to this production, noting that the young director "blinded the premiere of improvised contemporary material."
In the period from 2010 to 2013, Zhora worked as a director of television programs, mainly for entertainment purposes. He collaborated with various channels. Kryzhovnikov directed in such popular projects as "Superstar", "Dandy show", "Valera TV", "Olivier show".
Despite the good fees, Zhora continued to dream about cinema. Of particular interest to Kryzhovnikov was the American cinema of the 40-50s. In particular, the work of Raoul Walsh, Alfred Hitchcock, John Houston and John Ford.
In 2009, he released his first short film entitled "Dragon Abas Blue." This was followed by “Kazrop”, “Pushkin duel”, “Happy purchase” and “Curse”. At that time, Zhora was sympathetic to jump katu. This is the name of the movie reception, which is characterized by a spasmodic, cutting look pasting during installation. He first used a jump cat in his short film Curse. Zhora repeated this trick in "Bitterly!" and in subsequent full meters.
The debut in the movie took place in 2013. He was noticed in the famous Bazelevs studio, at the helm of which stands Timur Bekmambetov himself. He appreciated the short films of Zhora and invited him as a director to the film "Bitter!". Kryzhovnikov also wrote a script for him. The film made a splash in the Russian box office. Its creators planned to collect a cash register of 200 million rubles. The film ultimately brought in four times more, becoming the most unexpected and powerful box office breakthrough of 2013. Kryzhovnikov explained the success of the picture with the freshness of the idea. In an interview, he noted that in "Gorky!" what was never done before in Russian cinema was done.
In the wake of success, it was decided to remove the second part. It was directed again by Kryzhovnikov. The film "Bitter! 2" was released in 2014. This time the comedy turned out to be black because the plot was not about a wedding, but a funeral. The main roles were played by all the same actors, including Julia Alexandrova, Yan Tsapnik, Sergey Svetlakov.
In the same year, Zhora shot another short film called "Accidentally." A year later, the comedy "Best Day" was released with Dmitry Nagiyev in the title role. She was also a success.
In 2017, Zhora was one of the directors of the sixth part of the popular New Year’s New Year franchise. His wife, Julia Alexandrova, appeared in the film, playing the role of the pregnant Snow Maiden.
In 2018, Zhora began work on the painting "Error 102". She will be released on the big screens in 2019.
