There’s a new film coming from Russian master Andrey Zvyagintsev, called “Minotaur.”
We hadn’t heard much about the status of the project, and a few readers mentioned in my recent Cannes Spitball #1 that it hadn’t been shot yet. However, one of the film’s producers sent me the image below, which clearly shows Zvyagintsev on the Latvian set in October.
Zvyagintsev recently shelved what was supposed to be his next project, “Jupiter,” and instead decided to shoot “Minotaur,” which wrapped several weeks ago. This sixth feature follows “Gleb,” a Russian entrepreneur on the verge of laying off his employees, who discovers that his wife is having an affair. The film is described as a political fable that blends a crime thriller with tragedy.
Zvyagintsev hasn’t directed a film since 2017’s “Loveless” — another gem in a filmography that has become one of the very best in international cinema. I would imagine “Minotaur” is setting it's sights on a Cannes 2026 premiere.
In 2021, Zvyagintsev was placed in a medically induced coma in Germany after undergoing treatment for a severe reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine. He was in extremely serious condition, having suffered damage to 92 percent of his lungs. He has since recovered, though only after being hospitalized for 11 months.
At the time, the filmmaker was in the middle of production on “What Happens,” which was set to be his English-language debut, when he fell gravely ill.
Zvyagintsev is a two-time Oscar nominee known for his bleak, Russia-set cinema. He won the Venice Film Festival’s top prize in 2003 for “The Return” and the Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize in 2017 for “Loveless.” His most acclaimed film remains 2014’s extraordinary “Leviathan.”
