Filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev had a serious bout with COVID last year. He has been out of a medically-induced coma in Europe for many months now, after undergoing treatment.
If you remember, last summer, reports had emerged that Zvyagintsev had been transferred to Germany for treatment after contracting the virus. The filmmaker was in very serious condition, having suffered damage to 92 percent of his lungs. He was put in a medically-induced coma and on extracorporeal life support (ECLS).
The Russian filmmaker was in the middle of production for his movie, “What Happens,” which was going to be his English-language debut. The feature was on a newly unveiled slate from Russian mega-producer Alexander Rodnyansky alongside a Steven Soderbergh co-production.
It turns out that “What Happens” will now be shot this fall. That’s big news. Zvyagintsev is a two-time Oscar nominee known for masterful Russian cinema (“The Return,” “Elena,” “Leviathan,” and “Loveless”) . He won the Venice Film Festival’s main prize in 2003 and the Cannes Film Festival’s Jury Prize in 2017.