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Yuri Anatolyevich Bykov (Russian: Ю́рий Анато́льевич Бы́ков; born August 15, 1981) is a Russian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is best known for directing the films ''
The Major'', ''
The Fool'' and the TV series ''
The Method''.
Life and career
Early years
Yuri Bykov was born on August 15, 1981 in
Novomichurinsk
Novomichurinsk (russian: Новомичу́ринск) is a town in Pronsky District of Ryazan Oblast, Russia, located on the Pronya River south of Ryazan, the administrative center of the oblast. Population:
History
It was founded in 1968 and ...
,
Ryazan Oblast
Ryazan Oblast ( rus, Рязанская область, r=Ryazanskaya oblast, p=rʲɪˈzanskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Ryazan, which is the oblast's largest city.
Geo ...
. First he lived with his parents in a trailer. Bykov's father was a chauffeur by profession, his mother worked at the Novomichurinsky plant of large-panel housing construction. Around 1987 his father left for
Tyumen
Tyumen ( ; rus, Тюмень, p=tʲʉˈmʲenʲ, a=Ru-Tyumen.ogg) is the administrative center and largest city of Tyumen Oblast, Russia. It is situated just east of the Ural Mountains, along the Tura River. Fueled by the Russian oil and gas in ...
and he did not see him again. Approximately for 12 years, Bykov lived only with his mother. Later, his mother remarried, the stepfather was employed as a crane operator at a power plant.
Bykov grew up in poverty. His mother would force him to steal food from the neighbors lot.
He was fond of literature, wrote stories and poems in a local newspaper, went to music school,
played in music groups, worked as an arranger in a local studio.
He was a good student at school, but from the ninth grade his grades dropped due to the loss of interest in studies and focus on creativity.
After graduating from school, Yuri Bykov worked as a loader for two weeks, then the next two to three years as a discothèque manager and as a stage machinist in the club of culture, and also attended a local drama group in parallel. Then he tried to pass exams for the acting department in various educational institutions, but did not go through the competition. Later,
Boris Nevzorov visited Novomichurinsk and watched local performances, he was impressed by Bykov's performance and which made it possible for him to enroll in Nevzorov's course at
GITIS
The Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS) (russian: Российский институт театрального искусства – ГИТИС) is the largest and oldest independent theatrical arts school in Russia. Located in Moscow, ...
. Six months later he moved from GITIS to VGIK, where there was a free seat, and studied at VGIK for four years.
In 2005 Yuri graduated from the acting department of VGIK (workshop of
Vladimir Grammatikov
Vladimir Alexandrovich Grammatikov (russian: Владимир Алeксандpoвич Грамматикoв; born 1 June 1942) is a Russian and Soviet theater and film actor, director, screenwriter and producer. Honored Artist of the Russian Fed ...
). After VGIK he played in theaters: the Moscow Art Theater, Et Cetera, the Theater of the Moon, the
Russian Army Theatre
The Central Academic Theatre of the Russian Army (Russian: Центральный академический театр Российской армии) is the largest theatre in Moscow. It was established in 1929 as the Red Army Theatre, was rena ...
.
In the latter he played the main role in the play "The Marriage of Belugin", but left during the rehearsal due to low salary and loss of interest. He played small roles in films and television series. For six years he was a clown animator in the Armenian children's club "Yauza",
where he played the role of Jack Sparrow.
From 2005 to 2009 he made commercials
and tried to shoot short films, but ended up not being satisfied with them.
In 2006 he shot a six-minute film "Happiness", in 2007 a five-minute film "Stroka" and in 2008 a fourteen-minute film "Evening".
Film career
In 2009, he directed a short film "The Chief", in which he appeared as a screenwriter, director, composer, producer and actor. The film was awarded the prize for best short film at the
Kinotavr Film Festival. The film was shot using 150 thousand rubles, which Bykov previously planned to invest in his training at the directing faculty of the VGIK from
Vadim Abdrashitov
Vadim Yusupovich Abdrashitov (russian: Вадим Юсупович Абдрашитов, tt-Cyrl, Вадим Йосыф улы Габдерәшитов) is one of Russian cinema's most notable independent director (film), directors. He is inter ...
, where he was accepted twice.
In 2010 Yuri Bykov made his feature film debut with the film ''
To Live''.
He was the director of the series "Stanitsa", but left directly from the set due to creative differences.
Due to a judicial ruling, Bykov had to pay 2 152 500 rubles for his departure to the company Kinotelefilm.
In 2013, his film ''
The Major'' premiered in the
International Critics' Week
The International Critics' Week (french: Semaine de la Critique) was founded in 1962 and is organized by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics. It was created following the showing of '' The Connection'' directed by Shirley Clarke which had been ...
at the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
. The crime drama was awarded at several festivals, including prizes for Best Picture, Best Director and For Outstanding Artistic Contribution at the
16th Shanghai International Film Festival. In 2016, the American company
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
received distribution rights and plans to
remake the film as a mini-series, titled ''
Seven Seconds'', which will include 10 episodes.
In 2014, the social drama film ''
The Fool'' was released. The picture received a number of prestigious awards, including the
Grigori Gorin
Grigori Gorin (russian: Григо́рий Го́рин), real name Grigori Israilevich Ofshtein (russian: Григо́рий Изра́илевич Офштейн; March 12, 1940, Moscow — June 15, 2000, Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian play ...
prize for the best script and the diploma of the
Russian Guild of Film Critics
The Russian Guild of Film Critics (russian: Гильдия киноведов и кинокритиков России) is a Russian organization of professional film critics, headquartered in Moscow. Beginning in 1998, the guild began conferrin ...
("For the uncompromising artistic expression") at the Kinotavr-2014 festival. Also the film was highly rated by ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' critic
Stephen Holden, who named it as one of the five best films of 2015.
In 2014 he became the director of the first season of the crime drama television series ''
The Method'', which was released on the screen next year.
Konstantin Khabensky
Konstantin Yurievich Khabensky, PAR (russian: link=no, Константин Юрьевич Хабенский; born 11 January 1972) is a Russian actor of stage and film, director and philanthropist.
From 1997 he was part of the Saint Petersbur ...
, who liked Bykov's work on the film "The Major", invited him to work as director on the series. Yuri Bykov notes that he shot the series "according to the principles of the comics" in its light form and followed the instructions of the showrunner
Aleksandr Tsekalo
Aleksandr Yevgenyevich Tsekalo, uk, Олександр Євгенович Цекало, Oleksandr Yevhenovich Tsekalo (born 22 March 1961) is a Soviet and Russian musician, actor, radio and TV host. Founder of production company Sreda (produc ...
about creating a "Russian
HBO". The series received the
TEFI
TEFI (russian: ТЭФИ) is an annual award given in the Russian television industry, presented by the Russian Academy of Television. It has been awarded since 1994. TEFI is presented in various sectors (up to 50 nominations in 2008), such as tele ...
award in the category "Television film / TV series" and several other awards. Bykov refused to participate in the shooting of the second season because he wanted to concentrate on making more
auteur
An auteur (; , 'author') is an artist with a distinctive approach, usually a film director whose filmmaking control is so unbounded but personal that the director is likened to the "author" of the film, which thus manifests the director's unique ...
films.
He shot two-thirds of the film ''
The Age of Pioneers
''The Age of Pioneers'' (russian: Время первых, Vremya Pervykh, lit. "Time of the first ones"), also known as ''Spacewalk'' or ''The Spacewalker'', is a Russian historical drama film about cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, the first human to per ...
'', dedicated to
Alexei Leonov and his spacewalk, but because of creative disagreements he was removed from the project. According to the producer of the film
Timur Bekmambetov
Timur Nuruakhitovich Bekmambetov (, ; ; born June 25, 1961) is a Russian-Kazakhstan, Kazakh film Film director, director, Film producer, producer, screenwriter, and tech entrepreneur. He is best known for the fantasy epic ''Night Watch (2004 fi ...
, the film has some scenes which were filmed by Yuri Bykov. Bykov noted in an interview that is not interested in seeing the movie because the story became drastically simplified and the film's tone became overly patriotic. Bykov pointed out that to the best of his knowledge the film was completely re-shot, with the possible exception of one scene that could not be repeated because of unrestorable scenery.
He founded the Koda film company in 2016 to significantly reduce the cost of administering his own auteur films and gaining more overall control over the filming process.
In 2016 he finished shooting the action series "Sleepers" based on the script by
Sergey Minaev. Bykov notes that at the beginning of the project there were talks about the possibility of an auteur series, but then he became an ordinary hired director without the right to participate in post-production, including editing.
When the series was shown on television, it received a strongly negative response from the audience.
In 2018 the drama ''The Factory'' was released. In the film a group of factory workers around the protagonist Sedoy who are left without work as the factory they were working in is closed down by the management due to lack of profit. The factory workers decide to wage a fierce struggle, kidnap their former boss and barricade themselves inside factory building. Ultimately, the group is killed by the company’s hired security forces and a special task force of the Russian police. Despite the negative outcome of the film, which ends with the utter failure of the struggle and the death of all participants, sociologist David Leupold sees in the work an example of "subversive pessimism":
"Unlike kitschy revolutionary romance, which in its essence is exactly the opposite — namely reactionary inertia — the film deprives the viewer of the longed-for catharsis. And it is precisely this thwarted catharsis, this unfulfilled phantasy of another world on the screen that throws us from cinematic phantasmagoria back into reality. It is hard reminder that there is no other world than our own world of injustice, brutality and imperfection ... Our fundamental and painful dissonance with the world as it is is already pointing to its inevitable change — though as a yet unfinished potential."
On 13 October 2017, Yuri announced that he has betrayed the progressive generation and that he will take an indefinite hiatus from directing, but will still finish his work on ''The Guard'', which was released in 2019.
Filmography
As director
*2009 ''Начальник'' / ''The Boss'' (short)
*2010 ''Жить'' / ''
To Live'' (debut film)
*2011 ''Инкассаторы'' / ''Collectors'' (TV series)
*2013 ''Майор'' / ''
The Major''
*2014 ''Дурак'' / ''
The Fool''
*2014 ''Ёлки'' / ''
Yolki 1914
''Yolki 1914'' (russian: Ёлки 1914, meaning ''Christmas Trees 1914'' or ''Christmas Trees 4''), is a 2014 Russian comedy film. It is a prequel to the 2013 film ''Yolki 3''. It premiered on December 14, 2014; the film was released on December 2 ...
''
*2015 ''Метод'' / ''
The Method (TV series)
''The Method'' (Russian: ''Метод'') is a Russian crime drama television series, produced by Sreda, starring Konstantin Khabensky and Paulina Andreeva.
The first episode aired on Channel One October 18, 2015. Principal photography was don ...
''
*2017 ''Спящие'' / ''Sleepers (TV series)''
*2018 ''Завод'' / ''
The Factory
The Factory was Andy Warhol's studio in New York City, which had four locations between 1963 and 1987. The Factory became famed for its parties in the 1960s. It was the hip hangout spot for artists, musicians, celebrities and Warhol's superstar ...
''
*2018 ''Сторож'' / ''
Guard
Guard or guards may refer to:
Professional occupations
* Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault
* Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street
* Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning
* Prison ...
''
As actor
*2006-2007 ''Love as Love'' (TV series) as episode
*2006 ''All mixed up the house ...'' (TV series) as Gennadiy Demidov
*2007 ''Soldiers 13''
*2007 ''Sea soul'' (TV series) as Vadik
*2008 ''Ranetki'' (TV series) Tom drug dealer
*2008 ''SSD'' as maniac in a mask
*2009 ''The chief'' as captain FSB
*2009 ''The keys to happiness'' (Mini-series) as Oleg
*2009 ''Tanks are not afraid of dirt'' (Mini-series) as sergeant Vadim Smirnov
*2009 ''Law and Order: Department of operative investigations 3'' as Jora Semenov
*2009 ''Two Sisters 2'' (TV series) as bandit
*2009 ''Always say "always" 5''
*2009 ''Chain''
*2009 ''Wild'' (TV series)
*2010 ''Soldiers 16: Dembel inevitable'' (TV series) as Private Nikolay Soponar
*2012 ''Collectors'' (TV series) as robber
*2013 ''
The Major'' as Pavel Korshunov
*2015 ''
The Method (TV series)
''The Method'' (Russian: ''Метод'') is a Russian crime drama television series, produced by Sreda, starring Konstantin Khabensky and Paulina Andreeva.
The first episode aired on Channel One October 18, 2015. Principal photography was don ...
'' as "Khudoy", the detective
Awards
* ''
The Fool'':
** Best Screenplay, Open Russian Film Festival
Kinotavr
Kinotavr (russian: Кинотавр), also known as the Sochi Open Russian Film Festival is an open film festival held in the resort city of Sochi, Russia annually in June since 1991, until it was cancelled in the wake of the 2022 Russian invasi ...
,
Sochi (Russia), 2014
** Best Screenplay in Fiction Section, Tenemos Que Ver - International Film Festival on Human Rights of Uruguay,
Montevideo, (
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
), 2014
* ''
The Major'':
** First prize,
Shanghai International Film Festival
The Shanghai International Film Festival (, French: ''Festival international du film de Shanghai''), abbreviated SIFF, is one of the largest film festivals in East Asia.
"China's biggest film festival" according to the Hollywood Reporter. Nex ...
,
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
(
China), 2013
** Best music, Shanghai International Film Festival, Shanghai (China), 2013
** Best directing, Shanghai International Film Festival, Shanghai (China), 2013
* ''
To Live'':
** First feature film Prize,
International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights
The International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights (FIFDH) is one of the most important international events dedicated to cinema and human rights, located in the heart of Geneva, "international capital of human rights". The inspiration and ...
,
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
(Russia), 2010
* ''The Boss'':
** Best Short Film, Open Russian Film Festival Kinotavr, Sochi (Russia), 2009
References
External links
Portrait of Yuri Bykov*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bykov, Yuri
1981 births
21st-century Russian male actors
21st-century Russian screenwriters
Male screenwriters
Living people
People from Pronsky District
Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography alumni
Recipients of the Nika Award
Russian film directors
Russian film producers
Russian film score composers
Russian male composers
Russian male film actors
Russian male television actors
Russian activists against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine