Trivia

Graduated from the American Film Institute (AFI) in 1996 with a MFA in directing.

Left the USSR in 1990 and found refuge in Hollywood.

His thesis film at Columbia College/Hollywood won first place at a campus film festival and has been added to the permanent collection at the Guggenheim Museum.

Also directs ballet productions, theaters, and operas.

Attended the Institute of Theater, Music, and Drama in then-Leningrad, USSR.

Father was a political dissident who spent 18 years in the KGB prison.

Was brought to the US through the program International Institute of Human Rights as a political refugee from the USSR. He also received a green card immediately.

Found his leading lady for Camera Obscura, the Spanish actress Ariadna Gil, in a video store called Video Journey, where he asked for recommendations for European actresses. He was given a copy of 'Belle Epoque' with special instruction to pay attention to Ariadna Gil.

Personal Quotes

"The Conversation had a huge impact on me, when I was 19. This was when my identity was forming, and I tried to figure out what I would do in my life. At first, I wanted to be a musician. "

" In the Soviet Union, people would name their children after heroes of the revolution. But, my father was such an adamant hater of communism that he decided he would name me after a creation of his hero, Shakespeare. At the time, there was a Shakespearean cult in the Soviet Union. Believe it or not, I would occasionally meet other Hamlets. I've also met an Othello, a Moliere. In one class, I had a Hamlet, Euripides and Moses." [on the origin of his first name]

"Style is your own individuality ... it's within you. No one can be taught style. It can be taught out of you, though."

"In Russia, the theory of montage - editing -- is such a fundamental part of filmmaking. You wouldn't start to shoot a film, unless you had a concept of how you were going to edit it. Plus, you had to have a concept of the theory behind your work. You had to know how you were going to make your film breathe."

"Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. Life in the republics then was very much like a science-fiction movie. The state controlled everything ... the content of newspapers, working relationships, the economy, housing ... it was a constant state of fear and paranoia. It was also at this time, though, that national characteristics were beginning to form in the republics. In some places it was easier to live, while, in others, it was worse. In Armenia, we more joyful and family oriented ... like the Cubans."

"In Hollywood, I learned, everything is about sex and violence. In Russia, everything was life and death."

"In Russia, art was our only escape. Here, it wasn't anything but a business. I hadn't heard the word, "box office," until I came here. But, coming here was my dream and it was what kept me going."

"When I moved to Glendale, the city was celebrating its 50th anniversary. I came from a town that was 3,000 years old. The city was younger than my mother."

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