Biography

Alexei Popogrebsky was born in Moscow into a family of a screenwriter. Alexei studied psychology at Moscow State University and the University of Wisconsin. In 1995 he teamed up with Boris Khlebnikov, a film theory student, to direct two shorts. Their joint directorial debut feature, Koktebel (2003) scored a hat-trick by screening in the official selection at Berlin, Cannes and Toronto, as well as Moscow and Karlovy Vary. Simple Things (2007), Alexei's first solo effort as writer/director, won a number of prestigious international awards, swept all top accolades in Sochi and Angers, and was named Best Screenplay at Russian Academy Awards. How I Ended This Summer (2010), set and shot on a polar station in the Russian Arctic, was Alexei's third feature as writer/director. The film won two Silver Bears in Berlin and went on to win London and Chicago Film Festivals as well as Best Film and Best Screenplay at Russian Film Academy Awards. Following studies at the European Film Academy 3D Masterclass, Alexei directed a 3D short, Bloodrop (2011). Initially conceived as a tongue-in-cheek technical test, it went on to be released in cinemas, generated hundreds of thousands views on the Web, and won Special Awards at the 3D Image Festival in Lodz and Stereomedia in Brussels. In 2017 Alexei directed the 13-episode TV series, The Optimists, which won Russian Academy Award. Alexei was a jury member at Sundance, London, Karlovy Vary, Pusan, Sochi and Sakhalin. Presently, Alexei Popogrebsky is the Head of Directing Department at Moscow Film School, the leading private film school in Russia.