Director Kantemir Balagov announced his retirement from cinema

Director Kantemir Balagov, who shot “Dylda” and “Closeness”, said that he was completing work in the cinema. He wrote about this on Twitter and deleted the account.

“I’m all over. Two films are more than enough,” the director wrote (quote from RIA Novosti).

In the spring of 2022, it became known that Mr. Balagov left Russia. In October The Hollywood Reporter informedthat Kantemir Balagov, who was supposed to direct the pilot episode of The Last of Us series, based on the video game of the same name, left the project. The director confirmed the information. According to the publication, at that moment he was working on his first English-language film called “Butterfly Jam” about the relationship between father and son – emigrants from Kabardino-Balkaria in New Jersey.

With “Closeness” (2017), Kantemir Balagov made his debut at the 70th Cannes Film Festival. The film received the FIPRESCI award from the International Film Press Federation. In 2019 at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival was shown “Dylda”. The film won the award for best director. The film was also named Best Foreign Language Film by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA).