Karen Shakhnazarov

Directing

Born: July 8, 1952

Birthplace: Krasnodar, Krasnodarskiy kray, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]

Karen Georgievich Shakhnazarov (Russian: Каре́н Гео́ргиевич Шахназа́ров; born 8 July 1952; Krasnodar) is a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. He became the director general of Mosfilm in 1998. Shakhnazarov is the son of a Georgy Shakhnazarov, a politician of Armenian descent, and a Russian housewife, Anna Grigorievna Shakhnazarova. His 1987 film Courier was entered into the 15th Moscow International Film Festival, where it won a Special Prize. In 2002 he was a member of the jury at the 24th Moscow International Film Festival. Since 2005 he has been a member of the Public Chamber of Russia. His 2012 film White Tiger was selected as the Russian entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards, but it did not make the final shortlist.