Roman Volobuev Explained

Roman Volobuev
Birth Name:Roman Olegovich Volobuev
Birth Date:31 July 1977
Birth Place:Moscow, Soviet Union
Occupation:Film director, screenwriter, producer
Years Active:2014–present

Roman Olegovich Volobuev (Russian: link=no|Роман Олегович Волобуев; born July 31, 1977) is a Russian film and television director, writer, producer, and former film critic. Volobuev is best known for his 8-year tenure as film reviewer at Afisha magazine and for writing and directing TV series The Last Minister and Just Imagine Things We Know.

Early life and media career

Born and raised in Moscow, Volobuev briefly worked as an investigative reporter at Obshaya Gazeta[1] before starting to write film reviews for the Russian edition of Première magazine, Izvestia, Vedomosti and Iskusstvo Kino and in 2004 became a film section editor at Afisha.[2] He also served as founding editor-in-chief of the short-lived Russian edition of Empire film magazine in 2007[3] and as deputy editor of GQ Russia in 2012.[4]

Film an TV career

In 2013, Volobuev and his co-writer Lena Vanina developed a political comedy series Zavtra (Tomorrow) about Russian liberal opposition winning presidential election[5] for an independent cable news station TV Rain. Only pilot episode was produced, since TV Rain ran into political and financial troubles[6] and could no longer finance the show.[7] Volobuev's debut feature film The Cold Front (2016) a chamber mystery drama shot in Normandy was met with mostly lukewarm reviews[8] and failed at the Russian box-office. His second film a satirical action comedy Blokbaster (2017) fared much better with critics[9] and received the Special Jury Prize at Kinotavr film festival,[10] but was disowned by Volobuev after a public spat with producers over the final cut.[11] He eventually found a mainstream success with the black political comedy TV series The Last Minister and a 4-part mini-series about Moscow media industry Just Imagine Things We Know both released in 2020. Volobuev also co-wrote a post-apocalyptic drama series Survivors (2021) and appeared as an actor in Valeriya Gai Germanika's Brief Guide To A Happy Life (2011), Boris Khlebnikov's Hot and Bothered (2015) and Konstantin Bogomolov's A Good Man (2020).

In 2022 Volobuev condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine[12] and emigrated from Russia, effectively ending his local film career.

In 2023 he directed “Riot Days” an hour-long concert film featuring a live performance by the feminist art collective Pussy Riot. [13]

Political views

Volobuev is highly critical of Russian authorities, once calling modern Russia "an authoritarian state with good Wi-Fi and a nice urban planning".[14] He was a vocal supporter of Snow Revolution and has been detained during street protests in Moscow in 2012.[15] [16]

In 2018, after the arrest of the fellow director Kirill Serebrennikov he publicly urged Russian filmmakers to stop applying for funding from Russia's Ministry of Culture.[17]

In 2022, in a manifesto[18] explaining his decision to stop working in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine he compared moral choices Russian filmmakers currently face to the ones German filmmakers faced under Hitler.

Filmography

Source: Kinopoisk[19]

Feature films

YearFilmCredited as
DirectorWriterEditorProducer
2016The Cold Front
2017Blokbaster
Middleground
2023The White List
Riot Days

Television

YearTitleCredited asNotes
DirectorWriterEditor
2014ZavtraPilot
2020–2022The Last Minister31 episodes
2020Just Imagine Things We Know4 episodes
2021Survivors3 episodes
Okayannie Dni1 episode
2022Aurora8 episodes

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Кинокритик Роман Волобуев устроился в GQ. 2021-11-14. Ведомости. ru.
  2. Web site: DOKer Roman Volobuev. 2021-11-14. doker-eng. en.
  3. Web site: Роман Волобуев Time Out. 2021-11-14. ru-RU.
  4. Web site: Роман Волобуев стал заместителем главного редактора GQ. 2021-11-14. lenta.ru.
  5. News: Idov . Michael . 2016-01-07 . My Accidental Career as a Russian Screenwriter . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-03-02 . 0362-4331.
  6. News: 2014-12-08 . Russian liberal TV channel forced to quit premises . en-GB . BBC News . 2022-03-02.
  7. Web site: 2015-03-06 . Satirists seek crowdfunding to kickstart political comedy in Putin's Russia . 2022-03-02 . the Guardian . en.
  8. Web site: KinoKultura. 2021-11-14. www.kinokultura.com.
  9. Web site: "Блокбастер": Непрокатная версия. 2021-11-14. Журнал «Сеанс».
  10. Web site: Kinotavr 2017: Prizes and Winners :: Russia-InfoCentre. 2021-11-14. russia-ic.com.
  11. Web site: KinoKultura. 2021-11-14. www.kinokultura.com.
  12. Web site: 24 February 2022 . "Shame for the Insane Tyrant": How Liberal Russians Are Reacting to Putin's War With Ukraine . 2022-03-22 . Slate.
  13. Web site: 2023-09-14 . «Нам говорят: "Нахуя ты на Геббельса работал?" А мы: "Вы не понима-а-аете, там все сложнее!"» . 2023-11-26 . «Холод» . ru-RU.
  14. Web site: "Последний министр": Роман Волобуев — о том, как сделать политический сериал в стране без политики . 2022-03-25 . The Village . ru.
  15. Book: Idov, Michael . Dressed Up for a Riot: Misadventures in Putin's Moscow . Farrar, Straus and Giroux . 2018 . 978-0374223151 . New York . 152 . en.
  16. Web site: В центре Москвы задержаны Собчак и Навальный . 2022-03-25 . DELFI.
  17. News: Снизу постучал Мединский. Соцсети о продлении срока Серебренникову . 2022-03-25 . Радио Свобода . 19 April 2018 . ru. Пономарёва . Аля .
  18. Web site: "Сегодня ценность написанного, спетого, снятого на русском определяется тем, заведено ли на автора уголовное дело" Режиссер Роман Волобуев — о войне. И о том, почему культура оказалась бессильна . 2022-11-11 . Meduza . ru.
  19. Web site: Роман Волобуев, 1977 — Сценарист. 2021-11-14. Кинопоиск.