Vassily Vladimirovich Sigarev (, born 11 January 1977,

Verkhnyaya Salda Verkhnyaya Salda () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Salda River (right tributary of the Tagil River, Tagil), north of Yekaterinburg. Population: History It was founded in 1778; ...

Sverdlovsk Oblast Sverdlovsk Oblast ( rus, Свердловская область, Sverdlovskaya oblastʹ, p=svʲɪrdˈlofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia located in the Ural Federal District. Its administrative center is the c ...

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

) is a Russian

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

and

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

. His plays ''Plasticine'', ''Black Milk'' and ''Ladybird'' were first produced in the West by the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

, in 2002, 2003 and 2004, respectively. In 2002, Sigarev was named the winner of the Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright given out by the

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

for ''Plasticine''.

Biography

Sigarev was born in 1977, in

, a small town north of

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg (, ; ), alternatively Romanization of Russian, romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( ; 1924–1991), is a city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. The ci ...

, into a working-class family. He studied at the

Nizhny Tagil Nizhny Tagil ( rus, Нижний Тагил, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj tɐˈgʲil) is a classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located east of the Boundaries between the continents#Asia and Europe, boundary ...

Pedagogical Institute and graduated from the Yekaterinburg Theatre Institute where he studied under Nikolay Kolyada.

Theater

The subject matter of Sigarev's plays is the decay of post-Soviet Russia. ''Plasticine'' deals with child rape, ''Black Milk'' features a husband and wife team of con men in an abusive relationship, while the main characters of ''Ladybird'' steal cemetery markers to sell them to raise money for booze.

U.S. Productions

''Ladybird'' had its American premiere at The Bootleg Theatre in Los Angeles in 2007. Sigarev's work had not been seen in New York until a production of ''Black Milk'' was produced

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

in July 2012, at the 13th Street theater. Directed by Columbia M.F.A. student Michel Hausmann, the production received mixed reviews. Alexis Soloski of the ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...

'' called it an ..."unnuanced, indifferently acted production". nytheatre.com called it "strong piece of theatre, taking its audience headfirst into a deserted wasteland of fear, confused morals and a profound fall from purity. With resonating performances, impeccable design and a truthful directorial vision"

Cinema

Sigarev has directed three films, ''Volchok'', which was made in 2009 and which he adapted from his own play, ''Zhit'' (''Living'') (2012) and The Land of Oz (2015). He also wrote the screenplay fo
''Prodayotsya detektor lzhi''
(2005), which is based on his plays ''Detektor lzhi'' and ''Fantomnye boli''. In his 2021 interview with

Yury Dud Yury Aleksandrovich Dud (, , also spelled Yuri Dud; born 11October 1986) is a German-born Russian journalist known primarily for his informational online videos he distributes as a YouTuber. He has been deputy director-general of the sports webs ...

Sigarev mentioned

Elem Klimov Elem Germanovich Klimov (; 9 July 1933 – 26 October 2003) was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker. He studied at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, Gerasimov Institute of Cinematograph, and was married to film director Larisa Shepitko ...

's ''

Come and See ''Come and See'' is a 1985 Soviet historical anti-war film directed by Elem Klimov and starring Aleksei Kravchenko and Olga Mironova. Its screenplay, written by Klimov and Ales Adamovich, is based on the 1971 novel ''Khatyn'' () and the 1977 c ...

'' as the film that influenced him the most.

Personal life

Sigarev lives in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and was married to Russian actress

Yana Troyanova Yana Aleksandrovna Troyanova (; born 12 February 1973) is a Russian theater and film actress, director. Her notable works include ''Living'', ''Wolfy'' and '' Kokoko''. She directed the short film ''Ryadom''. Biography Yana Mokritskaya was born ...

from 2013 to 2020. Sigarev openly supports

Alexei Navalny Alexei Anatolyevich Navalny (, ; 4 June 197616 February 2024) was a Russian Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia, opposition leader, anti-corruption in Russia, corruption activist and political prisoner. He founded the Anti-Corruption Found ...

and was detained at

2021 Russian protests Protests in Russia began on 23 January 2021 in support of the Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia, opposition leader Alexei Navalny after he was immediately detained upon returning to Russia after being sent to Germany for treatment followin ...

Filmography

Selected Plays

*''Plasticine'' *''Black Milk'' *''Ladybird''

Awards and nominations

Winner

* 2002

Evening Standard Theatre Awards The ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are the oldest theatrical awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. They are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre, and are organised by the ''Evening Standa ...

: Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright for ''Plasticine'' * 2009

Kinotavr Kinotavr (), also known as the Sochi Open Russian Film Festival was 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 invasion of Ukraine.Wolfy Wolfie is an American indie rock band. Wolfie may also refer to: People * Martin Adams (born 1956), British darts player * Wolfie Kodesh (1918–2002), South African communist party activist * Wolfgang Van Halen (born 1991), American guitarist F ...

'' * 2009

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (, KVIFF) is an annual film festival held in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern Eur ...

: Don Quijote Award - Special Mention for ''

Wolfy Wolfie is an American indie rock band. Wolfie may also refer to: People * Martin Adams (born 1956), British darts player * Wolfie Kodesh (1918–2002), South African communist party activist * Wolfgang Van Halen (born 1991), American guitarist F ...

'' * 2009

Russian Guild of Film Critics The Russian Guild of Film Critics () is a Russian organization of professional film critics, headquartered in Moscow. Beginning in 1998, the guild began conferring annual awards in several categories. The awards were called the "Golden Ram" or ...

: Best Film and Best Debut for ''

'' * 2009

Zurich Film Festival Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) is an annual film festival that has been held in Zürich, Switzerland, since 2005. The festival's main focus is to promote emerging filmmakers from all over the world. In three competition categories only first, secon ...

: International Feature Film for ''

'' * 2012

Kinotavr Kinotavr (), also known as the Sochi Open Russian Film Festival was 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 invasion of Ukraine.Living Living or The Living may refer to: Common meanings *Life, a condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms ** Living species, one that is not extinct *Personal life, the course of an individual human's life * ...

'' * 2012

Thessaloniki Film Festival The Thessaloniki Film Festival is a Thessaloniki-based cultural institution focusing on cinema. The Institution organizes the Thessaloniki International Film Festival every November and the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival every March, while its ...

: Special Artistic Achievement for ''

Living Living or The Living may refer to: Common meanings *Life, a condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms ** Living species, one that is not extinct *Personal life, the course of an individual human's life * ...

'' * 2012 Wiesbaden

goEast GoEast, styled goEast, is an international film festival which has been held annually in the Hessian state capital of Wiesbaden, Germany, since its inception in 2001. The festival is primarily for films with an Eastern European background, and i ...

: Golden Lily and FIPRESCI Prize for ''

'' * 2015

Kinotavr Kinotavr (), also known as the Sochi Open Russian Film Festival was 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 invasion of Ukraine.The Land of Oz'' * 2016 Festival de l'Europe autour de l'Europe: Prix Luna for '' The Land of Oz''

Nominations

* 2010

Nika Award The Nika Award (sometimes styled NIKA Award) is the main annual national film award in Russia, presented by the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Science, and seen as the national equivalent of the Oscars. In 2022 nominees were announced, b ...

s: Best Film and Discovery of the Year for ''

'' * 2010

s: Best Film and Best Director for ''

References

External links

* * Vassily Sigarev biography at Russian Wikipedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Sigarev, Vassily 1977 births Living people People from Sverdlovsk Oblast Russian dramatists and playwrights Russian male dramatists and playwrights Russian screenwriters Russian male screenwriters Russian film directors