Kantemir Balagov, director of “Beanpole”, “Closeness”, posted this on Instagram last night:
I tried, but I’m done. I’m sorry. Two movies are more than enough.
Then, about an hour later, he deleted both his Instagram and Twitter accounts, this news comes just as he was about to make a film called "Butterfly Jam" produced by Ari Aster.
“Beanpole” was a big hit at Cannes five years ago and Russia’s Oscar submission, Balagov is a Russian living in America, can he stay if he no longer has a work Visa? He had to leave Russia for being outspoken against the war.
His girlfriend, Kira Kovalenko, actually won the sun Certain Regard Prize last year for “Unclenching the Fists.” Does she know her partner posted that he’s retiring at 32 years old?
No word yet on what his long-time producer Alexander Rodynansky has had to say about this.
Two years ago, I was surprised to learn that Balagov hadn’t shot a single single frame of his film “Butterfly Jam”. Balagov, I was told, left Russia and was stuck in Georgia working on an American VISA.
Balagov originally planned to shoot “Butterfly Jam” in Russia. Then he rewrote the story and set it in the Circassian diaspora community of New Jersey. The film was supposed to be both English and Russian.
I wrote a review of Balagov’s “Beanpole” at Cannes 2019. It was a fascinating and madly uneven movie, but filled with these uniquely passionate flourishes. Regardless, I thought a competition slot would have better suited it that year instead of Un Certain Regard.
