# Andrei Konchalovsky
**Andrei Konchalovsky** (Андрей Кончаловский; born 20 August 1937 in Moscow) is a Russian film director, screenwriter, producer, and stage and opera director whose career runs from Soviet films such as *Siberiade* (1979) through a decade of Hollywood features including *[Runaway Train](https://www.edgepedia.org/runaway-train-film)* (1985) to prize-winning late films such as *Paradise* (2016) and *Dear Comrades!* (2020)[1](https://www.mosfilm.ru/cinema/persons/konchalovskiy-andrey-sergeevich/) • [2](https://iffr.com/en/person/andrei-konchalovsky). He is a People's Artist of the RSFSR (1980) and, since April 2013, president of the Russian film academy Nika[3](https://www.culture.ru/persons/2102/andrei-konchalovskii) • [1](https://www.mosfilm.ru/cinema/persons/konchalovskiy-andrey-sergeevich/). Early in his career he was credited with the double surname Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky[4](https://filmmovement.com/userFiles/uploads/films/paradise/paradise_presskit.pdf).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 20 August 1937, Moscow[1](https://www.mosfilm.ru/cinema/persons/konchalovskiy-andrey-sergeevich/) |
| Education | Moscow Conservatory piano studies, then the directing faculty of VGIK in Mikhail Romm's workshop[3](https://www.culture.ru/persons/2102/andrei-konchalovskii) • [5](https://www.rbc.ru/person/657030429a79477b4966621b) |
| Family | Son of the writer Sergei Mikhalkov; brother of director Nikita Mikhalkov; his working surname comes from his mother, the poet Natalya Konchalovskaya[3](https://www.culture.ru/persons/2102/andrei-konchalovskii) • [6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/apr/08/andrei-konchalovsky-im-very-glad-i-failed-in-hollywood) |
| Hollywood highlight | *Runaway Train* (1985), nominated for three Academy Awards[4](https://filmmovement.com/userFiles/uploads/films/paradise/paradise_presskit.pdf) |
| Television | Directed the miniseries *The Odyssey* (1997), which won an Emmy Award in the United States[2](https://iffr.com/en/person/andrei-konchalovsky) |
| Late-career awards | Silver Lion for Best Director at Venice for *Paradise* (2016); Special Jury Prize at Venice for *Dear Comrades!* (2020)[7](https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/315273/) • [8](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/name/40157/) |
| Output | More than 30 films as director and screenwriting credits on more than 35 films[5](https://www.rbc.ru/person/657030429a79477b4966621b) |
## Early life and training
Konchalovsky was born into a prominent Soviet cultural family. His father, Sergei Mikhalkov, was a writer who co-authored the state anthem; his mother, Natalya Konchalovskaya, was a children's writer and translator, and his younger brother [Nikita Mikhalkov](https://www.edgepedia.org/nikita-mikhalkov) became a film director twelve years later[3](https://www.culture.ru/persons/2102/andrei-konchalovskii). His mother's line connects him to the painter [Pyotr Konchalovsky](https://www.edgepedia.org/pyotr-konchalovsky) and, more distantly, to the painter [Vasily Surikov](https://www.edgepedia.org/vasily-surikov)[5](https://www.rbc.ru/person/657030429a79477b4966621b). He trained first as a pianist, finishing the Central Music School in 1952 and then the music college attached to the Moscow Conservatory in 1957, and studied at the Conservatory itself from 1957 to 1959[3](https://www.culture.ru/persons/2102/andrei-konchalovskii) • [5](https://www.rbc.ru/person/657030429a79477b4966621b).
He turned to film and joined the directing faculty at VGIK, the state film school, in the workshop of Mikhail Romm[3](https://www.culture.ru/persons/2102/andrei-konchalovskii). Sources date his graduation differently: Mosfilm gives 1964[1](https://www.mosfilm.ru/cinema/persons/konchalovskiy-andrey-sergeevich/), while RBC gives 1965[5](https://www.rbc.ru/person/657030429a79477b4966621b).
During his studies he made the short *Malchik i golub* (*The Boy and the Pigeon*), which took the main prize in the [Venice Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/venice-film-festival)'s youth and debut competition in 1962, and he acted small parts in several films[3](https://www.culture.ru/persons/2102/andrei-konchalovskii) • [9](https://www.stalkerfest.org/sites/default/files/book-2019-web.pdf). He also began his long association with [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://www.edgepedia.org/andrei-tarkovsky), co-writing the screenplay of *Ivan's Childhood* (1962) and then *Andrei Rublev* (1966), Tarkovsky's epic about the 15th-century icon painter[3](https://www.culture.ru/persons/2102/andrei-konchalovskii) • [10](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/apr/22/director-andrei-konchalovsky-interview).
## Soviet career
His debut feature, *The First Teacher* (1965), an adaptation of Chingiz Aitmatov's novella, was shot in [Kyrgyzstan](https://www.edgepedia.org/kyrgyzstan) and concerns post-1917 southern Russia[1](https://www.mosfilm.ru/cinema/persons/konchalovskiy-andrey-sergeevich/) • [4](https://filmmovement.com/userFiles/uploads/films/paradise/paradise_presskit.pdf). Its follow-up, *The Story of Asya Klyachina, Who Loved, but Did Not Marry* (1966), was withheld from release by state censorship until 1988; it later received the Russian academy award for best picture[4](https://filmmovement.com/userFiles/uploads/films/paradise/paradise_presskit.pdf).
Two literary adaptations followed. *A Nest of Gentry* (1969) was drawn from Turgenev, and *Uncle Vanya* (1970) from Chekhov, with Sergei Bondarchuk as Astrov and Innokenty Smoktunovsky in the title role; *Uncle Vanya* won the Silver Shell at the [San Sebastián](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-sebastian) festival in 1971[5](https://www.rbc.ru/person/657030429a79477b4966621b). Critics responded strongly to that film. Vincent Canby of *The New York Times* called it "probably the best filmed Chekhov I've ever seen," and [Woody Allen](https://www.edgepedia.org/woody-allen) said he did not think "there could be a more perfect rendering of the play"[11](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/andrei-konchalovsky-the-roots-and-rarities-of-a-man-of-two-worlds-2190092.html). Konchalovsky himself remarked that after *Uncle Vanya* he could film in any limited space, "even in an elevator"[11](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/andrei-konchalovsky-the-roots-and-rarities-of-a-man-of-two-worlds-2190092.html).
Wider audiences came with the musical film *A Lover's Romance* (1974), seen by 40 million viewers and awarded the Grand Prix at [Karlovy Vary](https://www.edgepedia.org/karlovy-vary)[5](https://www.rbc.ru/person/657030429a79477b4966621b). The four-part epic *Siberiade* (1979), following life in Siberia from the early 20th century to the 1960s, brought international recognition[3](https://www.culture.ru/persons/2102/andrei-konchalovskii). Sources differ on its Cannes result: IFFR states it won the [Grand Prix](https://www.edgepedia.org/grand-prix-cannes-film-festival) at Cannes[2](https://iffr.com/en/person/andrei-konchalovsky), while RBC describes it as the festival's special jury prize[5](https://www.rbc.ru/person/657030429a79477b4966621b). In 1980 he was named People's Artist of the RSFSR[3](https://www.culture.ru/persons/2102/andrei-konchalovskii).
## Hollywood years
In 1980 he left for the United States, at which point he adopted the surname Konchalovsky; his son explained that he did not want to travel under his grandfather's name, and that two Mikhalkovs were already too many at Mosfilm[5](https://www.rbc.ru/person/657030429a79477b4966621b). The move changed his working method. On American sets he met a faster pace and tighter budget discipline, and a production manager who could declare a shot finished without appeal[5](https://www.rbc.ru/person/657030429a79477b4966621b).
His American features included *Maria's Lovers* (1984), based on a story by [Andrei Platonov](https://www.edgepedia.org/andrei-platonov); *Runaway Train* (1985) with [Jon Voight](https://www.edgepedia.org/jon-voight), nominated for three Academy Awards; *Duet for One* (1987); *Shy People* (1988); and *Tango & Cash* (1989) with [Sylvester Stallone](https://www.edgepedia.org/sylvester-stallone) and Kurt Russell, from which he was removed and which Albert Magnoli completed[5](https://www.rbc.ru/person/657030429a79477b4966621b) • [4](https://filmmovement.com/userFiles/uploads/films/paradise/paradise_presskit.pdf). A 2016 thesis records the judgment that his "penchant for philosophizing and 'psychologizing' at the expense of plot and pacing bored American audiences" in *Runaway Train*[12](https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/33632/1/Thesis%20L%20Todd%202016.pdf). Konchalovsky later said, "I'm very glad I failed in Hollywood"[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/apr/08/andrei-konchalovsky-im-very-glad-i-failed-in-hollywood).
## Return to Russia and late career
He returned to Russia and directed *The Inner Circle* (1991), a reflection on the nature of [Stalinism](https://www.edgepedia.org/stalinism) through the fate of Stalin's film projectionist Ivan Sanshin[3](https://www.culture.ru/persons/2102/andrei-konchalovskii) • [5](https://www.rbc.ru/person/657030429a79477b4966621b). *Kurochka Ryaba* (1994) revisited Asya Klyachina's story in post-communist Russia[5](https://www.rbc.ru/person/657030429a79477b4966621b). In 1997 American producers chose him for the miniseries *The Odyssey*, which won an Emmy Award in the United States, and that year the Moscow International Film Festival gave him an honorary prize for his contributions to cinema and he became a laureate of the Russian Order For Merit to the Fatherland[2](https://iffr.com/en/person/andrei-konchalovsky) • [5](https://www.rbc.ru/person/657030429a79477b4966621b).
Since returning to Russia at the end of the 1980s, Konchalovsky has operated largely independent of commercial considerations, relying on wealthy backers to fund his work[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/apr/08/andrei-konchalovsky-im-very-glad-i-failed-in-hollywood). Three of his films went to Venice and won prizes: *House of Fools* (2002), about a mental institution caught between Chechens and Russians, took the Special Jury Prize and a UNICEF award[8](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/name/40157/); *The Postman's White Nights* (2014), made with the real village postman Aleksey Tryapitsin and non-professional villagers, won the Silver Lion for Best Director[8](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/name/40157/) • [13](https://fipresci.org/report/the-using-of-non-professional-actors/); and *Paradise* (2016), a black-and-white film about the Holocaust told through three confessing characters, won the Silver Lion for Best Director at Venezia 73[7](https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/315273/).
**Dear Comrades!** (2020), scripted with Elena Kiseleva, dramatizes the hushed-up 1962 Novocherkassk events, in which workers demonstrating for higher wages and better living conditions were fired on by Soviet troops; 26 people died and dozens were wounded[14](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/dear-comrades-2020-andrei-konchalovsky-1962-novocherkassk-massacre-drama) • [5](https://www.rbc.ru/person/657030429a79477b4966621b). The film premiered in Venice, where it won the Special Jury Prize[2](https://iffr.com/en/person/andrei-konchalovsky), was nominated for a BAFTA, and was put forward for the Academy Award as Russia's submission, though it did not reach the nomination list[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/apr/08/andrei-konchalovsky-im-very-glad-i-failed-in-hollywood) • [5](https://www.rbc.ru/person/657030429a79477b4966621b).
## Other work and positions
Beyond film, Konchalovsky has directed several operas on major world stages and the four main Chekhov plays at the Mossovet Theater in Moscow[3](https://www.culture.ru/persons/2102/andrei-konchalovskii). In 2003 he founded the Andrei Konchalovsky Production Center, which creates television programs for channels including NTV, Rossiya, Kultura, and Zvezda[3](https://www.culture.ru/persons/2102/andrei-konchalovskii). His long-running cooking show *Edim doma!* is one of the survivors of Russian television[3](https://www.culture.ru/persons/2102/andrei-konchalovskii).
He has held institutional roles in Russia: member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation from 2010, president of the Nika film academy from April 2013, and head of the Pyotr Konchalovsky memorial museum-workshop since 2017[1](https://www.mosfilm.ru/cinema/persons/konchalovskiy-andrey-sergeevich/) • [3](https://www.culture.ru/persons/2102/andrei-konchalovskii).
His personal life is publicly bound to his work: his wife, the actress Yulia Vysotskaya, has played leading roles in *House of Fools* and *Gloss*, appeared in *The Nutcracker* and *Dear Comrades!*, and taken part in many of his stage productions[5](https://www.rbc.ru/person/657030429a79477b4966621b).
## References
1. [Михалков-Кончаловский Андрей Сергеевич, Mosfilm](https://www.mosfilm.ru/cinema/persons/konchalovskiy-andrey-sergeevich/)
2. [Andrei Konchalovsky, International Film Festival Rotterdam](https://iffr.com/en/person/andrei-konchalovsky)
3. [Андрей Кончаловский, Культура.РФ](https://www.culture.ru/persons/2102/andrei-konchalovskii)
4. [Director's biography, Paradise press kit, Film Movement](https://filmmovement.com/userFiles/uploads/films/paradise/paradise_presskit.pdf)
5. [Кончаловский Андрей Сергеевич: биография, РБК](https://www.rbc.ru/person/657030429a79477b4966621b)
6. [Andrei Konchalovsky: 'I'm very glad I failed in Hollywood', The Guardian (2021)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/apr/08/andrei-konchalovsky-im-very-glad-i-failed-in-hollywood)
7. [Paradise turns our thoughts once again to the Holocaust, Cineuropa (2016)](https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/315273/)
8. [Андрей Кончаловский, Кинопоиск](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/name/40157/)
9. [Андрей Кончаловский, Stalker Fest (2019)](https://www.stalkerfest.org/sites/default/files/book-2019-web.pdf)
10. [Andrei Konchalovsky: 'Forget freedom – wars and plagues make the best art', The Guardian (2014)](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/apr/22/director-andrei-konchalovsky-interview)
11. [Andrei Konchalovsky: The roots and rarities of a man of two worlds, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/andrei-konchalovsky-the-roots-and-rarities-of-a-man-of-two-worlds-2190092.html)
12. [The transition of Russian genre film directors to Hollywood, PhD thesis, University of Nottingham (2016)](https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/33632/1/Thesis%20L%20Todd%202016.pdf)
13. [The Using of Non-Professional Actors, FIPRESCI (2014)](https://fipresci.org/report/the-using-of-non-professional-actors/)
14. [Dear Comrades! review: a Soviet massacre, uncovered, Sight and Sound (2020)](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/dear-comrades-2020-andrei-konchalovsky-1962-novocherkassk-massacre-drama)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Film and television directors › Directors of Europe › Southern and Eastern European directors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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