Roman Volobuev
Roman Volobuev | |
---|---|
Born | Roman Olegovich Volobuev July 31, 1977 Moscow, Soviet Union |
Occupation(s) | Film director, screenwriter, producer |
Years active | 2014–present |
Roman Olegovich Volobuev (Russian: Роман Олегович Волобуев; born July 31, 1977) is a Russian film and television director, writer, producer, and former film critic. Volobuev is best known for his 8-year tenure as film reviewer at Afisha magazine and for writing and directing TV series The Last Minister and Just Imagine Things We Know.
Early life and media career
[edit]Born and raised in Moscow, Volobuev briefly worked as an investigative reporter at Obshaya Gazeta[1] before starting to write film reviews for the Russian edition of Première magazine, Izvestia, Vedomosti and Iskusstvo Kino and in 2004 became a film section editor at Afisha.[2] He also served as founding editor-in-chief of the short-lived Russian edition of Empire film magazine in 2007[3] and as deputy editor of GQ Russia in 2012.[4]
Film an TV career
[edit]In 2013, Volobuev and his co-writer Lena Vanina developed a political comedy series Zavtra (Tomorrow) about Russian liberal opposition winning presidential election[5] for an independent cable news station TV Rain. Only pilot episode was produced, since TV Rain ran into political and financial troubles[6] and could no longer finance the show.[7] Volobuev's debut feature film The Cold Front (2016) a chamber mystery drama shot in Normandy was met with mostly lukewarm reviews[8] and failed at the Russian box-office. His second film a satirical action comedy Blokbaster (2017) fared much better with critics[9] and received the Special Jury Prize at Kinotavr film festival,[10] but was disowned by Volobuev after a public spat with producers over the final cut.[11] He eventually found a mainstream success with the black political comedy TV series The Last Minister and a 4-part mini-series about Moscow media industry Just Imagine Things We Know both released in 2020. Volobuev also co-wrote a post-apocalyptic drama series Survivors (2021) and appeared as an actor in Valeriya Gai Germanika's Brief Guide To A Happy Life (2011), Boris Khlebnikov's Hot and Bothered (2015) and Konstantin Bogomolov's A Good Man (2020).
In 2022 Volobuev condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine[12] and emigrated from Russia, effectively ending his local film career.
In 2023 he directed “Riot Days”[13] an hour-long concert film featuring a live performance by the feminist art collective Pussy Riot. [14]
Political views
[edit]Volobuev is highly critical of Russian authorities, once calling modern Russia "an authoritarian state with good Wi-Fi and a nice urban planning".[15] He was a vocal supporter of Snow Revolution and has been detained during street protests in Moscow in 2012.[16][17]
In 2018, after the arrest of the fellow director Kirill Serebrennikov he publicly urged Russian filmmakers to stop applying for funding from Russia's Ministry of Culture.[18]
In 2022, in a manifesto[19] explaining his decision to stop working in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine he compared moral choices Russian filmmakers currently face to the ones German filmmakers faced under Hitler.
Filmography
[edit]Feature films
[edit]Year | Film | Credited as | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Director | Writer | Editor | Producer | ||
2016 | The Cold Front | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
2017 | Blokbaster | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Middleground | No | No | Yes | Yes | |
2023 | The White List | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Riot Days | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
Television
[edit]Year | Title | Credited as | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Director | Writer | Editor | |||
2014 | Zavtra | Yes | Yes | Yes | Pilot |
2020–2022 | The Last Minister | Yes | Yes | No | 31 episodes |
2020 | Just Imagine Things We Know | Yes | Yes | No | 4 episodes |
2021 | Survivors | No | Yes | No | 3 episodes |
Okayannie Dni | Yes | No | No | 1 episode | |
2022 | Aurora | Yes | Yes | No | 8 episodes |
Bibliography
[edit]- 500 фильмов изменивших мир (500 films that changed the word). 2006, Afisha Industries. 432 pages. ISBN 5-91151-001-4.
References
[edit]- ^ "Кинокритик Роман Волобуев устроился в GQ". Ведомости (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-11-14.
- ^ "DOKer | Roman Volobuev". doker-eng. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
- ^ "Роман Волобуев | Time Out" (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-11-14.
- ^ "Роман Волобуев стал заместителем главного редактора GQ". lenta.ru. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
- ^ Idov, Michael (2016-01-07). "My Accidental Career as a Russian Screenwriter". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
- ^ "Russian liberal TV channel forced to quit premises". BBC News. 2014-12-08. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
- ^ "Satirists seek crowdfunding to kickstart political comedy in Putin's Russia". the Guardian. 2015-03-06. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
- ^ "KinoKultura". www.kinokultura.com. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
- ^ ""Блокбастер": Непрокатная версия". Журнал «Сеанс». Retrieved 2021-11-14.
- ^ "Kinotavr 2017: Prizes and Winners :: Russia-InfoCentre". russia-ic.com. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
- ^ "KinoKultura". www.kinokultura.com. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
- ^ ""Shame for the Insane Tyrant": How Liberal Russians Are Reacting to Putin's War With Ukraine". Slate. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
- ^ Volobuev, Roman (2023-09-14), Riot Days (Musical), Mariya Alyokhina, Olga Borisova, Diana Burkot, Artbox, Vnezapie Filmworks, retrieved 2023-11-26
- ^ "«Нам говорят: "Нахуя ты на Геббельса работал?" А мы: "Вы не понима-а-аете, там все сложнее!"»". «Холод» (in Russian). 2023-09-14. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
- ^ ""Последний министр": Роман Волобуев — о том, как сделать политический сериал в стране без политики". The Village (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-03-25.
- ^ Idov, Michael (2018). Dressed Up for a Riot: Misadventures in Putin's Moscow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p. 152. ISBN 978-0374223151.
- ^ "В центре Москвы задержаны Собчак и Навальный". DELFI. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
- ^ Пономарёва, Аля (19 April 2018). "Снизу постучал Мединский. Соцсети о продлении срока Серебренникову". Радио Свобода (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-03-25.
- ^ ""Сегодня ценность написанного, спетого, снятого на русском определяется тем, заведено ли на автора уголовное дело" Режиссер Роман Волобуев — о войне. И о том, почему культура оказалась бессильна". Meduza (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-11-11.
- ^ "Роман Волобуев, 1977 — Сценарист". Кинопоиск. Retrieved 2021-11-14.