MINOTAUR

(Minotaure)

Special Screening | France, Latvia, Germany | 2026 | Drama, Political Thriller | France’s Official 2027 Oscar Entry | 140 min | In Russian with English subtitles

Directed by: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Written by: Andrey Zvyagintsev, Simon Liashenko, Claude Chabrol
Produced by: Charles Gillibert (CG Productions), Nathanaël Karmitz & Elisha Karmitz (MK productions), Max Pavlov, Dmitry Saltykovsky, Kristina Poli (Forma Pro Films), Roman Paul & Gerhard Meixner (Razor Film Produktion), ZDF, Arte Cinema
Cinematography: Mikhail Krichman
Original Score: Evgueni Galperine & Sacha Galperine
Film Editing: Andrey Zviaguintsev
Cast: Dmitriy Mazurov (Gleb), Iris Lebedeva (Galina), Boris Kudrin (Seriosha), Yuriy Zavalnyouk (Anton), Varvara Zmykova (Natacha), Vladimir Friedman (the major), Elena Bogdanovitch-Goloubeva (Tatiana), Mikhaïl Samodakhov (Nikolaï)
International Sales: mk2 Films
US Distributor: Mubi
US Release Date: November 20, 2026

Synopsis

Ensconced in a sleek modernist house, a small-town Russian oligarch’s methodical existence slowly begins to unravel under corporate pressures, the country’s escalating invasion of Ukraine, and marital infidelity. Then, like the mythological King Minos, he must sacrifice 14 souls to the hungry Minotaur. Andrey Zvyagintsev‘s breathtaking, impeccable remake of Claude Chabrol’s 1969 thriller, The Unfaithful Wife, gradually shifts its film-noir perspective from personal to global, fearlessly pulling back the curtain on the moral erosion and layer-upon-layer of insidious corruption in his native Russia.

Director’s bio

Acclaimed Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev studied drama and worked as an actor for over ten years, before directing three episodes of the TV series The Black Room (2000-2001). His first feature, The Return (2003) premiered in Venice, where it won the Golden Lion, then went on to win a Golden Globe for Best International Feature and an Oscar nomination in the same category. His second feature, The Banishment (2007) premiered in Competition in Cannes, where lead actor Konstantin Lavronenko won the Best Actor award. Elena (2011) won a Special Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section in Cannes and the Grand Prix at Film Fest Gent. Leviathon (2014) premiered in Cannes, where it won the Best Screenplay Award, and was nominated for both a Golden Globe and an Oscar. Loveless (2017) won the Jury Prize in Cannes and the Best Film award at the London Film Festival; was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar; and won the César Award for Best Foreign Film, making Zvyagintsev the first Russian to do so. Zvyagintsev has lived in exile in France since 2022. Minotaur won the Grand Prix at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.