Timur BEKMAMBETOV: On his mother’s side, he’s Jewish, on his father’s side, he’s Kazakh. Our person!

Timur Bekmambetov: family

The future director was born in Kazakhstan, a joyful event occurred in June 1961. Timur Bekmambetov was born into a family that had nothing to do with the world of cinema. The boy's father managed a large energy company, his mother worked in the field of journalism and was deputy editor-in-chief of a large publication. It is easy to guess that the family was quite wealthy.

What else can you tell about the origin of the talented director that is Timur Bekmambetov? The nationality of the master is a question of interest to many of his fans. It is known that Timur’s father belongs to an ancient Kazakh family, the history of which has been going on for many centuries; among his distant ancestors there are many famous Kazakh khans. However, Bekmambetov is only half Kazakh, since his mother was born into a Jewish family.

Choosing a life path

Timur Bekmambetov did not immediately decide on his choice of profession. His father wanted to see his beloved son continue his business. It is not surprising that after graduating from school he became a student at the Moscow Energy Institute. However, Timur was never able to get carried away with his studies, so he left the university soon after entering.

Having dropped out, Bekmambetov was forced to join the army and spent about two years near Ashgabat. Having repaid his debt to his homeland, he decided to get a higher education; the young man’s choice fell on the Tashkent Theater and Art Institute. Then he got a job at the Uzbekfilm film studio and began working part-time at a local theater. He managed to return to Moscow only in 1989. At first he was involved in the advertising business, then switched to cinema.

After being demobilized in 1989, he moved to Moscow, where he shot music videos and commercials, including the most famous of them “KAMAZ” (“Tanks are not afraid of dirt”), “Mars” and “Twix”.

He was the director of commercials for the banks Credit-Moscow, Menatep and Imperial. Videos from the series “World History, Bank Imperial” received many awards at advertising festivals in Russia and abroad. After this, Bekmambetov was elected the first member of the Russian Academy of Advertising.

First successes

“Peshawar Waltz” is the first film directed by Timur Bekmambetov, who also took on the duties of screenwriter and producer of the film. The film tells about real events dating back to the Afghan War. The film was presented to the audience in 1994, but the audience reacted to it rather coolly.

The 8-episode television project “Our 90s,” which was released in 2000, did not give its creator fame either. However, failures did not force Timur to give up and leave the profession.

Filmography

"The night Watch"

“Night Watch” is a film thanks to which thousands of viewers learned about who director Timur Bekmambetov is. The plot of the film, borrowed from the work of Russian science fiction writer Sergei Lukyanenko, tells the story of the confrontation between Light and Dark magicians who are fighting for power over the territory of Moscow. Timur became not only a director, but also a co-author of the script for the fantastic action film.

The film was a huge success in many countries around the world. Even the famous director Tarantino called the film “a breathtaking fantasy masterpiece.” It’s interesting that in Russia “Night Watch” was not to everyone’s taste. Fans of Lukyanenko’s work were outraged by how freely the creators of the film treated the plot. At the box office, the film earned over 30 million dollars, while its filming took no more than 4 million. It was then that they began to say that Bekmambetov was a director endowed with a unique style.

The success of “Night Watch” inspired the creators to shoot a continuation of the story that was loved by thousands of viewers. Day Watch turned out to be even more successful from a commercial point of view, earning about $40 million at the box office.

"Extremely dangerous"

The film “Wanted” is the first Hollywood experience of the talented director. Timur Nuruakhitovich Bekmambetov shot this film in 2009. The plot of the fantasy action film is borrowed from a comic book written by Mark Millar. The story tells of a mysterious brotherhood of assassins.

Critics praised the action movie "Wanted" for its drive, dynamics and spectacular visuals; the film collected many prestigious awards. Box office receipts this time amounted to more than $300 million. Many Hollywood stars took part in the filming of the film, including Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman. Timur later boasted that it took him no more than an hour to persuade Jolie to star in the action movie.

Hollywood

“In cinema, I do what I like. I bring to life the ideas that interest me. On the one hand, I’m wildly interested in working in Hollywood, making films in a Western style, but on the other hand, I don’t do anything that would be unnatural for me,” admits Timur Bekmambetov. He is the only domestic director who has established himself in the Hollywood staff of creators of giant film projects. He entered this honorary list with triumph.

In 2008, the Hollywood action film Wanted, directed by Bekmambetov, starring James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Konstantin Khabensky and Angelina Jolie, was released on world and Russian screens.

Working on the action movie “Wanted” opened the way for the director to the hearts of the producers and a healthy reaction from the press: the film was called original, fresh, subtle and visually interesting. Friendship with Tim Burton and joint work on the cartoon “9” confirmed: a foreigner came to the industry with a clear understanding of the problems and his own author’s vision of solving them, which is highly valued in Hollywood. But then everything went wrong.

With his second directorial work, the fantastic action film “President Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” Bekmambetov stepped into sacred territory for Americans, undertaking to rethink the biography of a figure canonical to the history of the country, but did not succeed, Fr.

The film was considered weak and failed in theaters, but was saved by box office receipts abroad, including in Russia, where more than 1.5 million people came to watch Bekmambet’s Lincoln crush vampires with an ax. The director himself later admitted that it was in vain that he decided to encroach on American canons.

He ventured into these waters a second time with Ben-Hur, which was released in August 2020. This is a new adaptation of the novel Ben-Hur: The Story of the Christ, published by American writer Lew Wallace in 1880. The film did not resonate with American audiences. It is possible that the interest of viewers was influenced by the opinion of critics who spoke negatively about the film on the eve of the premiere. Experts also believe that the failure may be due to the fact that the plot of the film is not new, and filming various kinds of remakes is always risky. As a result, with a 100 million budget, Bekmambetov’s film grossed only $94 million at the global box office.

And yet, having the opportunity to work in Hollywood, Timur Bekmambetov continues to make films in Russia. “Here is the audience with whom I connect and for whom I make, in the end, all my films, because we have a common language, a common experience and a common history. There are some simple words, some quote from a cartoon from the 70s, by which two people who grew up in Russia will understand without explanation what is being said. But no way for a foreigner,” says the director. “As soon as I lose this connection with the audience, I lose my foothold. Because, even if you make films for a French, Japanese or American audience, you still internally translate the images into your own familiar coordinate system. In order to formulate a thought, I need to imagine the reaction of my viewer.”

"Christmas trees"

“Christmas Trees” is a New Year’s comedy, which is also invariably mentioned when listing the director’s most striking achievements. Timur Bekmambetov, whose biography and films are discussed in this article, shot this picture in 2011. It is a film almanac that includes nine short stories. Bekmambetov worked on “Yolki” in collaboration with other directors.

The short stories are dedicated to events in the lives of ordinary people living in different parts of our country, who become participants in funny and sometimes ridiculous adventures. What unites the stories is that everything happens on New Year's Eve. The audience liked “Christmas Trees,” so a sequel to the film almanac was made.

Prizes and awards

• In 2011 he was awarded the Order of Friendship
• 1994 Competition of student works for the “Saint Anne” Prize (First Prize, film “Peshawar Waltz”)
• 1994 Author's Film Festival in Sanremo (Grand Prix, film "Peshawar Waltz")
• 1994 IFF in Karlovy Vary (Prize for the best director's work, the film "Peshawar Waltz")
• 1994 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Special Mention by the Jury for the Acting Ensemble, film “Peshawar Waltz”)
• 1994 ORKF in Sochi (Special mention FIPRESCI, film “Peshawar Waltz”)
• 1996 Prize "Green Apple - Golden Leaf" (For the best director's work, the film "Peshawar Waltz")
• 2006 Blockbuster Award (For the highest-grossing Russian film, the film “Day Watch”)

Based on materials from the sites: wikipedia.org, kino-teatr.ru, Tele.ru, kinopoisk.ru, vokrug.tv, 7 Days, Uznayvse.ru, Sobesednik.ru, Ok-magazine.ru, actor’s website.

"The Irony of Fate. Continuation"

"The Irony of Fate. Continuation” is a picture, the creator of which was also Timur Bekmambetov, whose films and biography are discussed in the article. As you can easily guess from the title, this is a continuation of the famous story of Nadya, Zhenya and Hippolyte. Viewers learn that the fate of the heroes was not at all as rosy as expected. They also meet their children, who become participants in an adventure reminiscent of the story of their parents. It all starts with Zhenya's son Kostya going to the bathhouse on New Year's Eve with his father's old friends.

"The Irony of Fate. Continuation" earned about $50 million at the box office, and therefore received the status of the highest-grossing Russian film of 2008. Interestingly, Eldar Ryazanov also liked it, and even played a small role.

Biography of Timur Bekmambetov

He worked as a production designer at the Ilkhom Theater in Tashkent and at the Uzbekfilm film studio.

Since 1987, he served in the USSR Armed Forces in an artillery division near Ashgabat in Turkmenistan.

After being demobilized in 1989, he moved to Moscow, where he shot music videos and commercials, including the most famous of them “KAMAZ” (“Tanks are not afraid of dirt”), “Mars” and “Twix”.

He was the director of commercials for the banks Credit-Moscow, Menatep and Imperial. Videos from the series “World History, Bank Imperial” received many awards at advertising festivals in Russia and abroad. After the release of the series, Bekmambetov was elected the first member of the Russian Academy of Advertising.

Bekmambetov’s debut in cinema was the war drama “Peshawar Waltz” (1994), which tells about one of the episodes of the war in Afghanistan. The film was the director's diploma work at the Higher Courses for Scriptwriters and Directors, it participated in several prestigious festivals and collected a number of awards, including the main prize at the Sanremo International Film Festival.

In 1994, Timur Bekmambetov founded the Bazelevs film company.

By order of the RTR television channel, Bekmambetov shot an eight-episode television feature film “Our 90s” (2000).

In 1998, American producer Roger Corman invited him to make the film “Gladiatrix” (The Arena), which was filmed in Russia. The film was released in 2001.

Cinematic success came to Bekmambetov in 2004 after the release of the fantasy thriller “Night Watch,” based on the novel of the same name by Sergei Lukyanenko. The main roles in the film were played by Konstantin Khabensky, Vladimir Menshov and Viktor Verzhbitsky. The film was shown in Russia, CIS countries, Great Britain, USA and Germany. In 2005, its sequel, Day Watch, was released.

In 2007, Bekmambetov directed the lyrical comedy “The Irony of Fate. Continuation”, which became one of the highest-grossing Russian comedies, grosses exceeded $50 million.

In 2008, the Hollywood action film Wanted, directed by Bekmambetov, starring James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Konstantin Khabensky and Angelina Jolie, was released on world and Russian screens.

On New Year's Eve 2011, the comedy “Yolki” with the participation of Ivan Urgant and Sergei Svetlakov was released. Timur Bekmambetov was the producer and one of the directors of the film. It was followed by four more films in the Christmas tree series, including the historical film Yolki 1914 and the comedy for family audiences Yolki Shaggy.

In 2012, the director shot the film “President Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” in the USA.

In August 2020, the premiere of Bekmambetov’s new historical film “Ben-Hur” will take place.

The director wrote scripts for his own films “Peshawar Waltz”, “Night Watch” and “Day Watch”, “The Irony of Fate. Continuation”, as well as the film almanacs “Yolki” and “Yolki-2”.

Bekmambetov is the producer of his own films “Peshawar Waltz”, “Irony of Fate. Continuation", "President Lincoln: Vampire Hunter", the series "Our 90s". He also produced films such as “Black Lightning” (2009), “Freaks” (2010), “Good Luck Gentlemen!” (2012), “Bitter!” (2013), “April Fool’s Day” (2014), “He’s a Dragon” (2015), the TV series “Gromovs” (2006) and “Gromovs. House of Hope (2007), etc. Among his production projects are the animated films “9” (Nine, 2009), “Smeshariki. The Beginning" (2011), "The Snow Queen 2: Refreeze" (2014), "Alice Knows What to Do" (2015).

Produced by Bekmamtov, director Ilya Naishuller's film Hardcore (2015) was named the best among the participants in the Midnight Madness program at the Toronto Film Festival.

In 2011, Timur Bekmambetov was awarded the Order of Friendship.

He is the winner of prizes at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (1994), the Sanremo International Film Festival (1994), “Green Apple - Golden Leaf” (1996 - two), the Blockbuster Award (2006), as well as the American CinemaCon Award ( 2012).

Timur Bekmambetov is married to costume designer and film producer Varvara Avdyushko. Together with his wife, he is the founder of the Sunflower Children's Help Fund. From his first marriage he has a daughter, Zhanna, a cartoonist by training.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Life behind the scenes

Bekmambetov’s first marriage was unsuccessful and did not last long; the director does not like to remember his ex-wife. But he happily talks about his second wife, who was costume designer Varvara Avdyushko. It is known that Timur and Varvara fell in love with each other at first sight and have not parted since then. The director calls Avdyushko his muse and claims that it is she who inspires him to all his accomplishments.

The couple does not yet have children together, but Bekmambetov has an adult daughter from his first wife. Genra also works in the field of cinema, but is engaged in animation.