Andrey Zvyagintsev holds Cannes press conference for Palme d'Or-nominated 'Minotaur'

(20 May 2026)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cannes, France - 20 May 2026
1. Wide shot Andrey Zvyagintsev and cast arrive for press conference
2. Medium cast applaud Andrey Zvyagintsev
3. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Andrey Zvyagintsev, writer/director - on returning to Cannes competition after an absence of nine years:
"Being here is very important for me. It's one of the greatest things that's happened to me over these last nine years. Coming back after such a lengthy absence, coming back here to the Cannes Film Festival is an absolutely incomparable event, and I'm sure you readily understand that."
4. Cutaway co-writer Simon Lyahenko and producer Charles Gillibert
5. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Andrey Zvyagintsev, writer-director - on whether he still considers himself to be a Russian filmmaker, having left the country:
"The idea of making this film occurred in 2022. It's a bit special because I left Russia a year previously, but I spent about 60 years in the country. I know how the people think, how they react, how they go about things. I know a lot about corruption too, which has developed in the country. I'm familiar with all the aspects, and this material was very opposite for me. I left Russia six years ago. In fact, I perhaps lost a given link, but I know what I'm talking about."
6. Wide shot panel
7. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Andrey Zvyagintsev, writer/director - on writing a backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine into the film:
"It's maybe difficult to believe, but I can tell you that the idea of making this film, this adaptation, occurred to me just after 'Loveless' in 2017, 2018. We were a far cry from the war at the time, but I really wanted to adapt the film, and I knew I could adapt it to the Russian context. If you look at Claude Chabrol's film again, there are a certain number of things he set to one side, the life of the main hero, for example, at work. Chabrol focused truly on what the main hero was doing with her family and the relationship within the couple. In 2022, when we met with (French producer) Nathanaël Karmitz in a cafe, we signed the contract and a week later there was a mobilization in Russia and I thought that this mobilization would fill in the gaps left by Claude Chabrol. I decided, therefore, to bring this mobilization into the film. That's what fate dictated."
8. Wide shot panel
9. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Dmitriy Mazurov, actor - on being directed by Zvyagintsev:
"Thank you very much for this question. Indeed, I worked with Andrey and I had the impression I was dealing with a real orchestra conductor. He's a master. And everything is in half tones. It's as though people were whispering. I placed my trust in him. I held out my hand. He held me by the hand. I closed my eyes. And he led me with my closed eyes, he led me along this path. And sometimes I did try and get a glimpse of things."
10. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Andrey Zvyagintsev, writer/director - on the recurrent theme within his films of relationships:
11. Wide shot press conference ends

AP VIDEO SHOT BY: Florent Bajrami
STORYLINE:
Filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev told the Cannes Film Festival that writing Russia's invasion of Ukraine into his new Palme d'Or-nominated drama "Minotaur" was "what fate dictated."

The director said he had begun thinking about putting a Russian spin on Claude Charbol's "La Femme infidèle" ("The Unfaithful Wife") in the months after launching his 2017 Cannes jury prize winner, "Loveless."
A week after signing a contract with French film producer Nathanaël Karmitz, Russia mobilized, he continued.
Zvyagintsev, who left Russia in 2021, has always been against the war in Ukraine.
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